Canadian Mining Journal August 2019 by The Northern Miner Group

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New Mining Technology Attracting millennial talent

C A N A D A’ S

TOP

OUR ANNUAL RANKING OF PRODUCERS

AUGUST 2019 | www.canadianminingjournal.com | PM # 40069240

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CANADIANMINING

AUGUST 2019 VOL. 140, NO. 6

JOURNAL

CANADA’S TOP 40

19 Our annual ranking of Canada’s Top 40 miners. 34 CMJ interviews the CEO of fertilizer giant Nutrien,

CMJ

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Canada’s Top Miner.

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FEATURES

15 A look at the mining sector’s efforts to court millennials and diversify the workforce. ANADIAN MINING JOURNAL CMJ looks at Canada’s newest mines and mines in development. C36

41 How Maestro Digital Mine is enabling the mine of the future.

44 Cambrian College’s Centre for Smart Mining adds to Sudbury’s mining innovation cluster.

47 How likely is a swing in commodity prices to derail an advanced mining project? CostMine advises.

NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY 51 Metso advances dry-stack tailings technology with new VPX fil er.

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITORIAL |

The disappearance of ‘big bucks.’

5 IN MY MIN(E)D | BME CEO Joe Keenan on how technological disruption will affect what we mine

Norcat CEO Don Duval discusses the benefits of mixing traditional training with new learning technologies for mine workers.

6 COMMENTARY |

8 CSR & MINING | Carolyn Burns and Jane Church outline 40 questions miners should ask themselves if they want to support local communities. Paul Blundy of Bennett Jones discusses changes to Ontario’s Construction Act and how they will affect miners

10 LAW |

11 FAST NEWS | Updates from across the mining ecosystem. 62 UNEARTHING TRENDS | EY’s Jeff Swinoga on what the consolidation

trend means for gold miners going forward.

www.canadianminingjournal.com AUGUST 2019

ABOUT THE COVER

This month’s cover supplied by SMS Equipment.

Coming in September Canadian Mining Journal ’s Gold issue, plus a feature report on advances in heavy equipment.

For More Information

Please visit www.canadianminingjournal.com for regular updates on what’s happening with Canadian mining companies and their personnel both here and abroad. A digital version of the magazine is also available at www.digital.canadianminingjournal.com

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

FROM THE EDITOR AUGUST 2019 Vol. 140 – No. 6

CANADIANMINING The disappearance of ‘big bucks’ Alisha Hiyate

ommodity prices have gone on a wild ride over the past 10 years, and that is clearly illustrated in our annual Top 40 coverage. In 2009, the words “big bucks” appeared in the headline to our Top 40 coverage for the second year in a row. That was the last time we used such unambiguous and glowing terms to describe the performance of Canada’s biggest mining companies. Even in the years when miners were making “big bucks,” the mining space was not universally profitable. In 2009, 29 of the Top 40 made a profit (based on 2008 financials). That number fell to 22 in 2014, and rose to 30 last year. This year, only 21 reported net earnings for the year. Despite fluctuations in commodity prices, there’s been a remarkable consistency in the top 10 or so companies in our Top 40 during the past decade. While our No. 1-ranked company, Nutrien, appears for the first time on our list, the company’s predecessors Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and Agrium have been in the top six every year f or the past 10 years. (See page 34 f or our interview with Nutrien CEO Chuck Magro). Teck Resources and Barrick Gold have both appeared in the top five every year since 2009. (In 2011, Barrick was even No. 1.) And oilsands companies have also consistently held spots in the top five, even af ter a deep plunge in oil prices f rom 2014 to early 2016. Goldcorp, which has made the top 10 every year in the past decade, will disappear from our list next year. Its merger with Newmont Mining, which closed in April, has formed the world’s biggest gold miner, Newmont Goldcorp. However, its U.S.based headquarters mean it won’t be eligible for our Top 40. There is, perhaps, a silver lining to the deal. We will be watching closely as the combined company evaluates its expanded base of properties. In January, when the companies announced the f riendly merger, they noted the combined company was targeting $1 billion to $1.5 billion in divestitures over the next two years to optimize gold production at a sustainable steady state level of 6 million to 7 million oz. annually. The new owners of those assets – assuming there is enough investor interest to raise the capital required to buy them, or miners with strong enough balance sheets to support their acquisition – could climb the ranks of the Top 40, or perhaps even be new entrants on our Top 40 in years to come. Sifting through this year’s Top 40 data, there are a few standouts. They include Wheaton Precious Metals, which saw profits rise an incredible 640% last year over 2017. The company has streaming agreements covering 19 operating mines, providing it with production of 688,000 gold-equivalent oz. last year. Turn to page 19 for more stats and figures, and to crunch the numbers yourself. CMJ

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MINING JOURNAL

225 Duncan Mill Rd. Suite 320, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3K9 JOURNAL Tel. (416) 510-6789 Fax (416) 510-5138 www.canadianminingjournal.com Editor-in-Chief Alisha Hiyate 416-510-6742 ahiyate@canadianminingjournal.com Twitter: @Cdn_Mining_Jrnl

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News Editor Marilyn Scales CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL mscales@canadianminingjournal.com Production Manager Jessica Jubb jjubb@glacierbizinfo.com Art Director Barbara Burrows Advisory Board David Brown (Golder Associates) Michael Fox (Indigenous Community Engagement) Scott Hayne (Redpath Canada) Anthony Moreau (Iamgold) Gary Poxleitner (SRK) Manager of Product Distribution Jackie Dupuis 403-209-3507 jdupuis@jwnenergy.com Publisher & Sales Robert Seagraves 416-510-6891 rseagraves@canadianminingjournal.com Sales, Western Canada George Agelopoulos 416-510-5104 gagelopoulos@northernminer.com Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: 1-888-502-3456 ext 2 or 43734 Circulation Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505 Group Publisher Anthony Vaccaro Established 1882

Canadian Mining Journal provides articles and information of practical use to those who work in the technical, administrative

and supervisory aspects of exploration, mining and processing in the Canadian mineral exploration and mining industry. Canadian Mining Journal (ISSN 0008-4492) is published 10 times a year by BIG L.P. Mining. BIG is located at 225 Duncan Mill Rd., Ste. 320, Toronto, ON, M3B 3K9. Phone (416) 510-6891. Legal deposit: National Library, Ottawa. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material you must ﬁrst obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information please contact Robert Seagraves at 416-510-6891. Subscriptions – Canada: $51.95 per year; $81.50 for two years. USA: US$64.95 per year. Foreign: US$77.95 per year. Single copies: Canada $10; USA and foreign: US$10. Canadian subscribers must add HST and Provincial tax where necessary. HST registration # 809744071RT001. From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505; Fax: 403-245-8666 ; E-mail: jdupuis@jwnenergy.com Mail to: Jackie Dupuis, 2nd Flr. 816–55th Ave. N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 6Y4. We acknowledge the ﬁnancial support of the Government of Canada.

www.canadianminingjournal.com

IN MY MINE(D)

Technology trends drive mining’s future By Joe Keenan

Photo: stellalevi, iStockimages.com

apid technological change is aff ecting what we mine, especially as many developing economies can now skip some of the stages of modernization that advanced economies have been through. The modern world has seen services like electricity and motorized transport become available across all societies. That they are so ubiquitous is a sign of how successful we have been in mining and processing the minerals they require – such as copper, steel and hydrocarbon fuels. Even telecommunications – the lifeblood of the global economy – was initially spurred on through physical networks of metal cables stretching across and between continents. Disruption Today, the picture is looking very different. Technological disruption is replacing the need f or copper inf rastructure, f or example. Digital and renewable technology has provided a path to development that requires fewer of the traditional minerals on which many nations industrialized – and more of others. While copper cables carried voice communication and television signals to millions of homes in the northern hemisphere during the 20th century, many developing countries have jumped straight to cellular phones and satellites. Strategic economic and political decisions are also being driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions. After more than a century of hydrocarbon-powered cars and vehicles, there has begun a drastic shift towards battery power. Minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths – some of the constituents of the batteries and fuel cells that will drive vehicles – are increasingly becoming where the mining industry’s interest will lie. Even the lubricants f or these vehicles will need to change. The oils we use f or today’s internal combustion engines, as advanced as they are, are still not reﬁned enough to suit an electric motor. New mining locations Starting with geography, the known deposits of many of these new ‘battery minerals’ tend to be located in non-traditional mining areas. Rare earths, f or example, are mainly in Asia, AUGUST 2019

Minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths – some of the constituents of the batteries and fuel cells that will drive vehicles – are increasingly becoming where the mining industry’s interest will lie. including China and Japan. Lithium deposits are highly sought after. The growing demand for cobalt – once a little-appreciated by-product of copper mining – has now led to mines that focus on the mineral itself. This will be to the beneﬁt of countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which hosts many of these rich deposits. This is likely to affect the strategic geopolitical status of certain countries – in the same way that the presence of oil or coal reserves has done in the past. At the very least, the shif t in mineral demand will bring the opportunity for economic development to new areas, where gross domestic product could be substantially boosted by this turn of f ortune. For the mining industry, players are needing to look beyond their traditional geographic horizons. Large batteries As energy generation moves away from fossil fuels to renewable sources, so the search is on for large-scale battery storage capacity to maintain baseload f rom renewable sources that are less reliable. Wind and solar power have seen an upsurge in the past decade, but generally cannot provide the baseload traditionally supplied by coal or gas generation. Innovation in technologies is matched by new models of power generation. Australia is creating neighbourhood networks of solar power generation, driven by solar panels on the roofs of homes. The electricity is shared among the residents – rather like an energy co-operative. All this points to the central role that battery storage could play in the f uture of our societies, replacing many aspects of power generation, transmission and distribution that exist today. The impact on mining will be signiﬁcant. CMJ JOE KEENAN is chief executive officer of BME. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

COMMENTARY

The transformation of work and learning in mining By Don Duval

he global mining industry is undergoing a technology renaissance unlike any other in its history. Mining companies are increasingly evaluating, investing in, and deploying innovative technologies that will drive productivity, safety, and ultimately shareholder value within their organizations. These technologies are not only redefining the definition of work, but they are also reshaping the world of training and development. Understanding the new skills workers will need to operate these technologies competently and confidently – as well as evolving expectations of how these workers want to learn – must be at the forefront of decision making within mining companies. It is safe to assume that the days of learning exclusively by listening to an instructor in a physical classroom are long gone. Many subjects and skills can be effectively taught only through hands-on experiential learning and trainees are coming to expect more creative and engaging learning and development pathways. As technologies such as augmented / virtual reality (AR/VR) and equipment simulation grow more prevalent, the opportunities to blend and integrate technology-driven, interactive, and experiential methods of workplace education have never been greater. Developing and delivering “blended learning” programs for the skilled labour industries is a strategic priority for Norcat, a Sudbury, Ont.-based skilled labour training and development centre serving the global mining industry. Quite simply, the new world of work has created a new world of training and development, and we believe blended learning can take mine worker training, engagement, and knowledge retention to the next level. Let’s start at the beginning. When considering integrating learning technologies with traditional methods of education delivery, companies must first assess the learning content, desired learning outcomes, and target audiences. Some mining topics and training modules are not conducive to classroom-based training, and f urthermore, some workers pref er 6 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

Visitors at Norcat’s Underground Mining Centre undergo training using virtual reality technologies in a real-life mine environment. COURTESY: NORCAT

more hands-on, experiential methods of learning. There’s a time and a place for all forms of learning, and it’s incumbent upon those who develop and deliver training to evaluate how best to create learning experiences that beneﬁt the f ull spectrum of workers and produce the required learning outcomes. Determining the right type of training can be a creative process that builds in the flexibility to adjust methods based on worker pref erences. Younger workers are typically more tech savvy than their older counterparts, and of ten expect to use newer learning technologies such as VR / AR and simulation-based training as part of their learning and development journey. That said, over the past ﬁve years, experienced mine workers seeking to incrementally improve their operational skills have formed one of the largest cohorts to utilize Norcat’s equipment simulation training centre. When coupled with the right content and programming, we believe the design, quality, and user interface of these learning technologies, such as equipment simulation, has reached a tipping point whereby any trainee, of any demographic, with the desire to learn can effectively engage with and derive meaningful learning experiences from these technologies. However, www.canadianminingjournal.com

while it is true that the opportunities for AR / VR and equipment simulation training are boundless, it is important to recognize their limitations. For example, in the spirit of blended learning, let’s consider the process of learning to operate a scoop-tram. Using equipment simulation technology, workers can develop and enhance their skills in a safe, controlled environment. The trainees can be caref ully observed and data collected in order to create reports that can help the trainer focus and refine further coaching and mentoring on the needs of individual learners. Now imagine the value of coupling this virtual training with in-thefield, hands-on validation of competence, using the actual piece of equipment in an actual underground operating mine. This approach not only recognizes that learning technologies are only one ingredient in the pedagogical recipe, but also this blended method is scalable, cost effective, and better utilizes the assets in the operating mine to ensure they are focused on production and not training. No longer is the expectation that a new worker will need extensive time allocated to hands-on entry level training on a scoop-tram in an underground operating mine. In the new world, that same worker can achieve a base level of competency by first leveraging equipment simulation training and in doing so, expedites the learning pathway and significantly reduces the required asset utilization of production equipment in the oper-

ating mine. If the competency validation results in the field do not measure up, the worker can return f or continued and enhanced training using the equipment simulator. This blended learning concept is redefining the world of work and learning in all skilled labour industries around the world. The evolving technology landscape is always exciting and that often leads senior company management to believe traditional methods are outdated and to demand more innovation in how employees are trained. The key is understanding the right mix. Many of the most successful training programs Norcat has developed and deployed in the mining industry have taken a blended learning approach that incorporates classroom-based learning, AR/VR and equipment simulation, and in-the-field training on real equipment at an operating mine site. In our experience, the companies that are most successful at giving their employees the knowledge and tools they need now and in the future are the ones that invest in defining the desired learning outcomes, build the right content and curriculum, and deliver the training with the right blend of learning methods. Doing this will ensure that workers have the right skills and confidence to do their jobs productively and saf ely – all day, every day. CMJ DON DUVAL is the CEO of Norcat. For more, follow Don on LinkedIn and Twitter (@don_duval).

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ConstruCtion AnD Mining serviCes

AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

CSR & MINING

40 questions miners need to ask themselves By Carolyn Burns & Jane Church

ining companies should want to support sustained positive outcomes for local communities. But, doing this effectively is easier said then done. It requires a deliberate, thoughtful approach. How do you know if you’re on the right track? Here are the top 40 questions you should ask if you and your organization really want to support sustained positive outcomes for local communities. These questions are based on 150 interviews with a broad range of stakeholders involved in extractive development. You can read more about those interviews at www.netpositivenr.org. 1. Why does it matter to you? Why do sustained positive outcomes for impacted communities matter? Why are you invested in making it happen? Is it in line with your values or the ‘way you do business?’ What is the business case? 2. What do you know about the local community? What are their priorities, concerns, dynamics? Who makes decisions? What are their constraints and pressures? Understanding the local context is the f oundation f or building relationships and participating in informed discussions. 3. Do you get the local context? Mining of ten takes place in areas with limited infrastructure and services, a history of colonialization and/or conflict, and few alternative economic drivers. Do you understand how this context influences community dynamics, decisions and your relationships? 4. How do you learn about the community? Are you thinking outside the box to get more involved in community life or build new connections and relationships? Do you attend community events and invite community groups to company events? 5. Who holds the relationships with community representatives? Do those people have the right level of authority, skills and resources? If you are working with Indigenous communities, do you have a ‘chief to chief’ relationship?

upfront in relationship building? Have you made sure you are engaging with the right people (e.g. diverse groups, traditional land users) from the beginning? 8. Are you giving the community enough time and information to plan, make decisions, and take advantage of the beneﬁts of mining? 9. Does the site take community input seriously? Do your permitting and investment decision-making processes include steps to support this? How have you adapted your ways of working to align with community ways of doing things? 10. Are communities part of decision-making? Do they have the time, resources, and access to information to participate? 11. Is the community at the table and do they really have an equal seat? Have community members been able to develop the skills required to equally participate in decision-making? Have you acknowledged power imbalances that might exist? 12. Can you address power imbalances? Can the company help bridge any gaps in resources, capacity, or expertise? If the company is not the right organization do this, can someone else such as an NGO or government agency? 13. What value does the community bring? In addition to local business and local hiring, what community knowledge, expertise, or resources can add value to the project/operation? 14. Are you prepared to pull the plug? It is possible that the impacts of an operation are too severe. If so, are you ready to change direction? Would you change plans for an expansion, or a new road, or a tailings facility? 15. Do you behave like good neighbours? How do you cultivate a culture of respectful behaviour within the organization?

6. Do you know the right people? Do you have relationships with both formal and informal leaders, as well as with women, youth, and people from marginalized groups?

16. Do you tell the truth? Are you honest about how decisions are made? About potential impacts and beneﬁts? About the inherent uncertainties of mining?

7. Did you show up early enough? Have you invested time

17. Are you scared to share information? Are you open about

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risks and opportunities? How do you respect materiality or proprietary information while being open with stakeholders? 18. Other than community leaders, who do you have a relationship with? Civil society groups often play an important role in supporting communities, managing impacts and sharing benefits. 19. Who holds who accountable? Successful relationships with stakeholders depend on accountability. How is the site held accountable? How are local leaders held accountable? 20. Do you see the situation as a zero-sum game? Do you feel like giving something to one stakeholder group means giving something up or taking something away from someone else? 21. How do you value the ‘soft stuff’? Companies tend to focus on quantitative perf ormance (such as share price, production, schedule, and budget). How are qualitative successes, like partnerships, acknowledged and rewarded? 22. Can people come to you? What are the entry points for a community to build a relationship with you? Are there real or perceived barriers, either tangible (fences, language differences), or intangible (power dynamics, cultural differences, fear)? 23. Achieving sustained positive outcomes for local communities f rom mining requires having a vision and plan f or the f uture. Is there a community vision or plan? Is there a joint company-community vision or, how has mining been factored into the community’s plans? 24. Who owns the plan? Who tracks progress? How are groups held accountable? 25. Can you talk about the f uture? This can be dif ficult f or mining companies given the inherent uncertainties in the industry. It can also be difficult for communities when there are pressing day-to-day issues to address or when they don’t have enough information. How do you try to overcome this? 26. Are you leveraging other stakeholders? Are you working with other organizations and leaders to meet common objectives? Who else is committed to improve social outcomes and positive mining activity? What academic institutions or civil society groups could you partner with?

by your team? By other stakeholders? 29. What are the community’s systems? Do you understand the formal and informal ways the community make decisions? 30. Where do your systems align? How you have found ways to align your ways of working with community and external stakeholders’ ways of working? 31. Can you get creative? Can you work with other stakeholders to co-design systems (e.g. f or consultation, environmental monitoring) that work for everyone? 32. How do you manage lif e of mine changes? Is there a smooth handover between the exploration, construction and operations team? How do you share information about impact mitigation, relationships, and the local context for example? 33. Who is in charge of social performance? Is there a senior person who is accountable? Is social perf ormance siloed or well-integrated? 34. Are the right departments or people accountable? This is important for impact management but also for managing external relationships. Are roles and responsibilities clear? 35. How is social performance incentivized? Are responsibilities integrated into employee annual performance reviews and bonus structures? Does this conf lict with other goals/incentives? 36. Where are your blind spots? Company systems are of ten designed with technical and production objectives in mind, not social objectives. Have you thought through they way your systems inadvertently impact sustained positive outcomes? 37. What is the company’s worldview? Our worldviews influence how we see the world and others and affect how we build relationships. What are the company’s priorities, constraints, values and belief s? Where are the dif f erences in worldviews across management, corporate and site, ﬁeld employees, etc.? 38. What are communities’ worldviews? There are many beliefs and values that influence the way mining affected communities see the world. How do livelihoods, land use, spiritual practices, the local economy, and history affect this worldview?

27. Have you thought about cumulative impacts? Do you work with other resource development teams? Are you leveraging the way you share beneﬁts and manage impacts?

39. Does the company worldview set the tone for mining activity? In mining, proﬁt-based worldviews of ten dominate and shareholder requirements drive many decisions.

28. What are your systems? How do you make decisions? Are they codiﬁed and prescribed like permitting or consultation frameworks? Are they more informal like gut-check decisions made at a boardroom table? Are your systems well understood

40. Is it possible to ﬁnd a balance? Can decisions about mining activity consider dif f erent local community perspectives and worldview? Where are there shared values, belief s, and CMJ priorities?

CAROLYN BURNS is director of operations at NetPositive, a non-profit that works with diverse stakeholders to help local communities see sustained positive outcomes from mining. JANE CHURCH is a co-founder and director of collaboration with NetPositive. AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

LAW

How Ontario’s new Construction Act will affect miners By Paul Blundy

he mining industry will always need inf rastructure to access, extract, transport and process minerals, so when the government of Ontario changes the rules governing payment f or construction in Ontario, mining executives must take note. The changes will create consequences f or owners who f ail to implement the policies and procedures required to comply. Ef f ective July 1, 2018, the government substantially amended the Construction Lien Act and renamed it the Construction Act, but that was just the first step. The second step occurs Oct. 1, 2019, when the prompt payment and adjudication regimes included in the Construction Act come in to f orce. However, it is not as easy as simply throwing out one book and buying a new one. Construction in Ontario will now be governed by three different regulatory regimes. 1 We will be continuing to implement and administer contracts for which procurement was begun or the contract was signed prior to July 1, 2018, for a few years yet. Such contracts, and all their respective subcontracts, will remain governed by the Construction Lien Act, as it existed on June 30, 2018. 2 Contracts signed after that date, or for which procurement was begun only after that date, will be governed by the new Construction Act, but without the prompt payment adjudication sections. 3 Contacts for which procurement is begun only on or after Oct. 1, 2019, will be governed by the full ambit of the new Construction Act. Two dif f erent regimes apply to contracts now, and af ter Oct. 1, 2019, three different regimes will apply. The first question mining companies who procure construction work will need to ask will be which regime governs the contract. Impact of the changes The “modernization” changes effective July 1, 2018, are extensive and touch almost all parts of the Act. The time period for preserving a lien is extended from 45 days to 60 days. For the mining industry some clarity is bought to the definition of an improvement to which the Act will apply. Under the Construction Lien Act, an “improvement” included a repair, 10 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

which led to the application of hold backs to some normal course work. Under the Construction Act an “improvement” includes only a “capital repair” which is deﬁned as one that is intended to extend the normal economic lif e or improve the value of land, but not to include maintenance work performed to maintain or prevent deterioration. The second step, the coming into force of prompt payment and adjudication, may have greater impact on how construction is administered. Prompt payment means that an owner must pay its contractor within 28 days of receipt of a proper invoice, or give notice to the contractor that it intends not to pay within 14 days of the date of the proper invoice. The contractor in turn must give notice to its subcontractors if the owner is planning not to pay or, if the contractor is paid, must pay its subcontractor within seven days of receipt of payment from the owner or give notice that it intends not to pay. This timing continues down to subcontractors at all levels, an additional seven days for payment with each level. If notice of non-payment is given, adjudication will follow. The adjudicator will be mandated to give a binding decision to the parties within 30 days af ter receipt of documents. The results of the adjudication are binding on the parties and if an owner fails to pay within 10 days of an adjudicator’s order, the contractor can stop work. What mining companies can expect The government’s expectation is that the deadlines f or payment and mandatory adjudication will substantially reduce the time f or payment in the construction industry and that once payment is made, construction litigation will be reduced. In the short term, every construction practitioner will be paying close attention to the timing of the contracting process to keep track of which of the three distinct regimes will apply and, under the ultimate prompt payment regime, establish processes to receive, review and make decisions on proper invoices within the 14 days allowed under the Act. Before questioning any invoice, the owner will need to have its position thoroughly investigated and any expert reports and analysis that might be needed to defend its decision to an adjudicator prepared. The owner may face an adjudicator within a CMJ few days after its decision to dispute a proper invoice. PAUL BLUNDY is a partner and leader of public infrastructure projects practice at Bennett Jones, LLP, Toronto.

www.canadianminingjournal.com

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FAST NEWS • ANNIVERSARY |

Updates from across the mining ecosytem

OMA celebrates 100 years

n 2020, the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), one of the longest serving trade organizations in Canada, will turn 100 years old. On May 28, OMA members and special guests, including community, government and industry partners, gathered for a gala evening to mark the start of the celebrations. “The success of Ontario mining is rooted in our members’ drive to continually improve, and the achievements of our association depend on member engagement and strong leadership by the OMA board of directors,” said OMA president Chris Hodgson. “Today’s f estive gathering is the ﬁrst of a series of events that will serve to acknowledge their contributions, connect our community, share their stories, and inspire future successes.” To celebrate its 100th Anniversary, the OMA has created #ThisIsMining, a campaign that takes a fresh look at the role of mining in our lives and in Ontario. The campaign is meant to encourage the “mil-

• PROCESSING |

CREDIT: ZACHARY SPENCE CAPITAL ARTS PRODUCTIONS

lennial plus” audience of Southern Ontario to discover everything mining in Ontario has become, cultivating their curiosity.

The program’s launch video, The Elements of Mining, is available on CMJ YouTube.

Metso, Outotec merger creates industry leader

etso Minerals of Helsinki and Outotec of Espoo have announced plans to combine their companies to create an industry leader in equipment and processing f or the mineral processing industry. (Metso Flow Control will become an independent company under the name Neles.) The combined company will be named Metso Outotec. The combination of Metso Minerals and Outotec is highly complementary and will create a unique company in the industry. Metso Outotec will leverage the strengths of both companies, including technology and R&D, product and process excellence, scale and global service offering footprint. The two companies had combined 2018 sales of about $6 billion. The companies expect to achieve runrate annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least $147 million, and run-rate annual 12 | CANADIAN

Chris Hodgson, OMA president; Marc Lauzier, Porcupine mine general manager, Newmont Goldcorp; Duncan Middlemiss, president & CEO, Wesdome Mines; and Mike McCann, head of mining and milling, North Atlantic, Vale.

MINING JOURNAL

revenue synergies of at least $221 million, delivering significant value f or shareholders. Metso Outotec will benefit f rom strong free cash flow and a solid capital structure and will aim for an investment grade credit rating in line with the current Metso rating. Metso’s recently announced acquisition of McCloskey is expected to complement the business profile of Metso Outotec, expanding and strengthening the aggregates business. The combination will be implemented through a partial demerger of Metso, in which all assets and liabilities of Metso that relate to Metso Minerals will transf er to Outotec in exchange f or newly issued shares in Outotec to be delivered to Metso shareholders. Outotec shareholders will continue to own their shares in Outotec. Upon completion, Metso shareholders

will receive 4.3 newly issued shares in Outotec f or each share owned in Metso on the record date. This implies Metso shareholders would own approximately 78% of the shares and votes of Metso Outotec, and Outotec shareholders would own approximately 22% of the shares and votes of Metso Outotec. In addition, Metso shareholders will retain their current shares in Metso, which will be renamed Neles. The current CEO of Metso, Pekka Vauramo, will become Metso Outotec’s CEO, and the current CEO of Outotec, Markku Teräsvasara, will become the deputy CEO of Metso Outotec. Eeva Sipilä will become the CFO and deputy CEO of Metso Outotec. Metso Outotec’s headquarters will be in Helsinki, and it will maintain its listing on Nasdaq Helsinki. Completion of the deal is expected in the second quarter of 2020. CMJ www.canadianminingjournal.com

• NEW TECHNOLOGY |

Epiroc launches 6th Sense for smarter mining

piroc has introduced 6th Sense, calling it a “game changer” that combines digitalization and automation to boost customers’ performance. There is a growing need for the mining and inf rastructure industries to employ digital technologies to enhance productivity, sustainability and saf ety. 6th Sense is the Epiroc way to optimize customers’ processes by connecting machines, systems and people using automation, information management and system integration. With 6th Sense comes a great f ocus on system connectivity, using interoperability to unlock the full potential of automation for production gains at lower operating costs. “6th Sense is a formula we have developed for getting the right solutions in place and achieving operational excellence in mining and infrastructure operations,” said Helena Hedblom, senior executive VP mining and infrastructure. “The name 6th Sense implies that the solution brings something extra and that is just what it does, providing a signiﬁcant advantage such as track and respond to real-time

working conditions and equipment needs.” One example of Epiroc’s f ocus on automated and productivity enhancing solutions comes f rom the Hollinger mine in Timmins, Ont. Together with long term partner Newmont Gold-corp, Epiroc has put the world’s ﬁrst fully autonomous SmartROC D65 Epiroc says its control tower in Oreboro, Sweden, is a high-tech surface drill rig into produc- collaboration arena for customers and partners. CREDIT: EPIROC tion. The operator can be positioned remotely and perf orm other tasks while the drill rig cess integrations. We are continuously completes a f ull drill pattern autono- rolling out new innovative features, always mously. Besides increased operator safety, with the customers’ needs in mind,” this boosts productivity thanks to Global Hedblom said. In other news, Epiroc recently reloNavigation Satellite System accuracy, non-stop operations and less wear and cated its U.S. headquarters f rom tear on drilling tools, reducing production Commerce City to Broomﬁeld within the Denver, Colo., metropolitan area. The costs and improving reliability. “The 6th Sense approach is based on company joins a dynamic business comour customers’ needs f or implementing munity in a tech corridor known as the digitalization, automation and new pro- “Rocky Mountain Silicon Valley.” CMJ

ABB launches digital real-time mine integration • SOFTWARE |

he new ABB Ability operations management system (OMS) maximizes co-ordination between weekly production plans and dynamic situations in the mine to improve ef ficiency, increase productivity and maximize profitability. Developed in collaboration with Boliden and ArcelorMittal Mining Canada, Ability OMS f or mining connects and co-ordinates mine operators, workf orce, equipment and all mining activities in real time, from face preparation to crusher. Mine planners of ten have to build a short-term plan with limited visibility of ongoing activities in the mine. At the same time, mine operators constantly consider and evaluate a complex set of operational constraints, adjusting to ever changing, day-to-day and hour-to-hour situations. This can af f ect operational ef ficiency and raise costs.

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Updates from across the mining ecosytem

By integrating short interval control and closed loop scheduling into a single digital platf orm, ABB’s OMS improves responsiveness to unplanned events and reduces production variability through all the mine stages. The ABB Ability OMS can present “what if” scenarios in case of task failure or operational change. This helps mine

operators and planners make better decisions f aster to ensure ongoing operation of the mine and increased productivity. “By of f ering advanced short-term planning and increased automation, ABB Ability operations management system enables the mine to act as an ore factory,” said Eduardo Lima, product manager for integrated mine operations. CMJ

BQE Water to supply SART plant for GoGold’s Parral project • ENVIRONMENT |

GoGold Resources Parral project in Mexico. CREDIT: GOGOLD RESOURCES

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QE Water, a leader in the management of mine wastewater and metallurgical bleed streams, has been retained by GoGold Resources to supply a SART plant at the Parral tailings project in Chihuahua. The contract comes after on site testing and preliminary assessment of SART integration into the metallurgical process at Parral that were completed earlier by BQE Water. Under the contract, BQE Water’s scope of work will include plant engineering design, process automation, engineering support during procurement and construction, plant commissioning, and ongoing operations support af ter plant start-up. The plant construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Once the plant is commissioned, BQE Water will provide operations support services f or a monthly fee for a period of three years. Owned and operated by GoGold Resources, the Parral project involves the reprocessing of old tailings to recover silver and gold by conventional cyanidation. In addition to the precious metals, the tailings also contain significant quantities of cyanide soluble copper and zinc. These base metals compete for cyanide, causing high cyanide consumption and increasing operating costs. Invented in the mid-1990s by Chris Fleming at Lakefield Research, the SART (sulphidation-acidification-recycling-thickening) process recovers copper from cyanide leach solution while allowing free cyanide to be recycled back to the leaching of precious metals. This lowers the cost of gold extraction and reduces the environmental footprint of gold minCMJ ing projects. www.canadianminingjournal.com

HUMAN RESOURCES

Mining sector courts

millennials By D’Arcy Jenish

n 2006, Zeliya Tamboura left home and family behind in Ouagadougou – capital of the landlocked west African nation of Burkina Faso – to study abroad. Her studies took her to Paris, Minnesota, Montreal and Texas before she started her career in Austin, Texas as a partner manager with Facebook. But in early 2018 she made a move that may well have surprised many of her youthful colleagues at the social media giant. She took a position as a deputy communication superintendent with Toronto-based Iamgold and returned to Burkina Faso to promote the company’s Essakane mine. “The lives of many rural people have

AUGUST 2019

At top: Iamgold’s Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; Above: Zeliya Tamboura, deputy communication superintendent with Iamgold. CREDIT: IAMGOLD

been changed thanks to mining and, in the case of Iamgold Essakane, I can see the positive impact on the people of Burkina Faso,” Tamboura says. “My mind is always trying to find creative ways to educate people on the benefits of mining.” That Tamboura found her way from Austin to Ouagadougou and from the social media sector to mining was no accident. Iamgold and several other large Canadian mining companies, as well as industry associations such as the Canadian Institute of Mining and the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHRC), have launched a number of initiatives to recruit younger workers – or CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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Human resources research shows that millennials are driven by purpose. We’ve had to demonstrate that what we’re doing has a positive impact on society. – ALEX TEIJEIRA, VP, HUMAN RESOURCES AT IAMGOLD

millennials, they are commonly known. These ef f orts are critical to the f uture of the industry. “We have a very old workf orce,” says Ryan Montpellier, executive director of MIHRC. “We forecast that about forty per cent of the people currently working for Canadian mining companies won’t be employed in the sector in ten years.” TheCanadian industry employs some 200,000 people worldwide, meaning that a staggering 80,000 workers will depart within a decade – mostly due to retirement. However, the industry faces some significant challenges when it comes to renewing its workforce. Most mines are located in rural or remote locations – out of sight and out of mind f or young people raised in a highly urbanized country like Canada. “There’s a disconnect between people living in urban centres and the reality of mining,” Montpellier says. “There’sa remarkable breadth of career opportunities in the industry. We track 120 dif f erent occupations in mining and that includes everything f rom engineers and equipment operators to pilots and environmentalists.” Diversity is another issue. Mining has traditionally been a male dominated industry and it remains so. Currently, only 17% of the employees in Canadian mining companies are women and most are employed in finance, human resources and administration. At the mine level, women represent only 5% of workers. Iamgold is tackling these issues head on and has achieved considerable success. Alex Teijeira, vice-president of human resources, says that millennials now constitute 52% of the company’s f ull-time workf orce of 4,800. Although the company says its gender diversity is on par with benchmark, female new hires are between 20-60% and women represent about 40% of employees at the Toronto head offic and the company’s other urban office in Longueuil, Que., Ouagadougou and Paramaribo in Suriname, where Iamgold operates the Rosebel mine. Teijeira says the company has succeeded in attracting millennials by branding itself in a way that appeals to that generation. “Human resources research shows that millennials are driven by purpose,” he notes. “We’ve had to demonstrate that what we’re doing has a positive impact on society.” Iamgold has been marketing itself through the website LinkedIn and, to a lesser extent, Facebook. Throughtthose channels, the company emphasizes its commitment to health and safety, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. www.canadianminingjournal.com

Left: Agnico Eagle Mines’ LaRonde gold mine in Quebec. Millennials constitute 52% of the company’s full-time workforce. Below: Tuula Koivuniemi, senior mining engineer at Agnico Eagle’s Kittila mine in northern Finland. CREDIT: AGNICO EAGLE MINES

“Every social media post has links to our initiatives in those areas,” add Dorena Quinn, global director, head of talent. “That has driven an increase in receptiveness to joining our organization.” Besides social media marketing, Iamgold hires students on internships, co-op work placements and summer work terms. The company also holds symposiums during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual convention in early March and senior leaders address potential employees. Job fairs have also proven to be an effective tool and, in some cases, the company has targeted young people who have lef t their home countries to study abroad. As it happened, Tamboura was ready to return to Burkina Faso and she learned that mining was booming back home. “I started to look for opportunities in that sector,” she says. “I seized the opportunity to participate in the job fair Iamgold organizes each year in Canada.” Toronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines is another large Canadian gold miner that is aggressively pursuing the next genera-

AUGUST 2019

tion of miners. The company has a direct workforce of 6,100, which jumps to 6,800 when students or others on temporary work assignments are included. Over the past year or two, the company has recruited whole new teams of generally younger workers to operate its new Meliadine and Meadowbank’s Amaruq satellite mines in Nunavut, both CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

HUMAN RESOURCES of which went into production in 2019. Agnico Eagle has staffed these operations with a mix of local residents as well as others who primarily fly in and fly out from the Kivalluq region in Nunavut, Montreal and Val-D’Or on two-week rotations. “We’ve been able to attract people because we have a very good story to tell,” says Keith Harris-Lowe, vice-president, people. “We have a long history as a suc-

cessf ul and growing company. We also have a collaborative and inclusive culture we show to prospective employees.” Only 16% of the company’s workf orce are women, but Harris-Lowe says Agnico Eagle is working hard to attract more women in prof essional, technical and non-traditional roles with some noteworthy successes. For example, women are being hired in Nunavut and

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at its mines in Mexico to drive the heavy trucks that haul ore f rom the mines to milling facilities. “A number of us have noted that women equipment operators rarely have accidents and tend to work more saf ely than the average, Harris-Lowe says. As a result, some Agnico managers emphasize hiring women in these roles. Agnico Eagle is also participating in Gearing Up, a f ederal program that offers mining companies subsidies of up to $7,000 a year f or each student hired under an internship or co-op placement. Ottawa announced a substantial increase in funding in the 2019 budget, which will allow companies hire 850 students over the next four years. MIHRC has developed a number of programs designed to entice the next generation and to increase the number of women working in mining. Montpellier says the council’s Gender Equity in Mining program, or GEM for short, includes tools delivered online or in-person to help senior leaders identif y and address systemic barriers that discourage women f rom considering a mining career. To date, 10 large companies have taken advantage of the initiative. Montpellier adds that the council has held two virtual job f airs f or secondary and post-secondary students and they have attracted over 1,000 students. He notes that the Canadian Institute of Mining, as well as several provincial mining associations, have developed videos, online quizzes and other tools to raise awareness of careers in mining among high school students. These organizations are also communicating with guidance counsellors to make them aware of the career opportunities. “There are no shortages of initiatives underway to promote the modern mining industry in Canada today,” Montpellier says. And those ef f orts are beginning to change some of the negative but outdated perceptions of the industry, says Harris-Lowe. “People are starting to see that the work we do is not what it used to be,” he says. “Mining today is highly technological. That’s going to attract CMJ people as we get the word out.”

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C A N A D A’ S

TOP

Leagold Mining’s Los Filos mine complex in Guerrero state, Mexico. CREDIT: LEAGOLD MINING

A SPECIAL REPORT BY NEWS EDITOR MARILYN SCALES TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT HOW CANADA’S TOP 40 MINING COMPANIES ARE PERFORMING AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

C A N A D Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S

TOP

NO.1 NUTRIEN HEADS TOP 40 LIST

Despite revenues, many gold producers suffer losses

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MINING JOURNAL

www.canadianminingjournal.com

nce again, CMJ is proud to offer this snapshot of our mining industry – the Top 40 Canadian miners ranked by their gross revenues. Looking at 2018 revenues we ﬁnd the No. 1 on our list is Nutrien. How can it not be? The combination of Agrium (for several years the leader) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (No. 6 last year) vaulted the new enterprise to the top with revenues surpassing $24.4 billion. We usually use updated numbers f or comparison to a year earlier because they may have been restated in certain cases. However, there were no 2017 ﬁgures f or Nutrien, so we have added numbers from both Agrium and Potash Corp. to estimate what they might have made two years ago had they been a single company. Congratulations to base metal, coal and oilsands producer Teck Resources, which is once more No. 2. In 2018, Teck had revenue of $12.6 billion, roughly half the revenue that Nutrien generated. Closely behind Teck (if $600 million can be considered “close”) is Suncor Energy’s oilsands business at $12 billion. Despite the downturn in the oil and gas sector as well as the Alberta government’s decision to cut back production, Suncor enjoyed a boost to production with a year of commercial operation from it new Fort

Hills joint venture project. Canadian Natural Resources, another oilsands producer, also had a large jump in revenue to $11.5 billion from $7.1 billion. This No. 4 company proﬁted from 12 months of revenue provided by the 70% of the Athabasca oilsands venture that it acquired in May 2017. Sitting in the No. 5 spot and down from No. 3 is Barrick Gold at $9.4 billion. Revenues in 2017 were $10.9 billion. The drop in production occurred despite the amalgamation of Barrick and its rival Randgold, f or which Barrick paid approximately $7.8 billion.

Only 15 of our Top 40 managed to eke out net earnings in both 2017 and 2018. Three of them were precious metals producers. Four of the next ﬁve companies are gold producers, with the exception of copper producer First Quantum Minerals sitting at No. 6 with revenues of $5.1 billion. That company is f ollowed by Kinross Gold ($4.2 billion), Goldcorp ($3.9 billion), Agnico Eagle Mines ($2.8

Left: Nutrien’s Fort Saskatchewan nitrogen operations. CREDIT: NUTRIEN Below: At Teck’s Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile. CREDIT: TECK

AUGUST 2019

billion), and Yamana Gold ($2.3 billion). Canadian gold miners, even the biggest ones, were plagued by net losses in 2018. Barrick lost $1.4 billion, Kinross lost $33.2 million, Goldcorp lost $5.4 billion, Agnico lost $423.4 million, and Yamana lost $385.8 million. Gold mining is a tough sector when the top company goes f rom a profit of $2 billion in 2017 to a loss of $1.4 billion in 2018 as Barrick did. Most of the top gold producers had losses in 2018 af ter healthy profits in 2017. The losses tell us more about the geopolitical stage than anything else. U.S. President Donald Trump’s willy-nilly tarif f s unsettled investors who f ound other potentially more profitable places f or their money. Meanwhile, the cost of goods and labour continue to rise for gold miners. Year of M&A Last year was a busy year for mergers and acquisitions. Many of these deals affected Canadian miners, taking some out of contention f or the Top 40 and putting others on the list for the first time. As mentioned, the combination of Agrium and PotashCorp. has created a world leading potash and f ertilizer producer now known as Nutrien. This is the last time that we can count Goldcorp among the Canadian Top 40. Its $13-billion takeover by American Newmont Mining means that its assets now belong to an American company. Although we are sad to see Goldcorp join the f oreign ranks, we are pleased that the combination created the world’s largest gold producer – Newmont Goldcorp – with annual output of 5.1 million oz. in 2018. The Newmont Goldcorp deal that closed in April 2018 pushed former top gold miner Barrick to second spot with an output of 4.53 million oz. last year, despite the fact that the merger of Barrick and Randgold made Barrick the top producer in 2017. Goldcorp wasn’t the only Canadian miner to find itself south of the 49th Parallel. The Nevsun name vanished thanks to a takeover by Zinjin Mining of China. Klondex Gold was swallowed up by Hecla Mining of Idaho. Tahoe Resources was acquired for $1.3 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

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C A N A D A’ S

billion in a controversial move by Pan American Silver, which appears again on this year’s list, this time at No.18. Brio Gold was acquired by Leagold

Mining in Vancouver. Not only did this deal keep ownership in Canada, but the combined resources ($513.9 million) put Leagold on the Top 40 list – at No.32 – for the ﬁrst time. (Brio Gold was No. 25 in 2017.) Other names on the list f or the ﬁrst time include Pretium Resources at No. 27 ($589.2 million) and Osisko Gold Royalties at No. 33 with $490.5 million – more than double its 2018 revenue compared to 2017.

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Another addition to this year’s list is Alamos Gold at No. 24 with revenues of $844.7 million. The company should have been on last year’s list, but due to an error on our part, it was omitted. Keen-eyed readers will also note the omission of Syncrude among the Top 40. Sometimes its oilsands revenue can be estimated from the numbers in its sustainability report. The latest available information is for the year 2017, meaning we could not estimate numbers f or 2018. Output f rom Syncrude accounts for a good part of Suncor’s revenues, and readers will have to be content that the revenue is reflected there. The ﬁve runners-up f or the Top 40 this year are Gran Colombia Gold, Taseko Mines, Fortuna Silver Mines, Sierra Metals and Copper Mountain Mining are metal miners – gold, copper, molybdenum, and silver. There were only a few million dollars of revenue separating No. 40 Golden Star from No. 41 Gran Colombia Gold. Measuring “top” Another, more of ten cited, measure of a “top” miner is market capitalization. The Norther Miner published such a list on July 16, and a quick comparison ﬁnds all of the 10 biggest TNM miners are also among our Top 40. For interest, the top 10 by capitalization are Nutrien ($41.4 billion), Barrick ($35.9 billion), Teck ($17 billion), Agnico Eagle ($15.8 billion), Kirkland Lake Gold ($11.9 billion), First Quantum ($8.5 billion), Kinross ($6.3 billion), Cameco ($5.6 billion), Lundin Mining ($5.4 billion), and B2Gold ($4.0 billion). And there are other yardsticks by which to measure the “success” of a mining company. One might be to look at revenue growth year-over-year. Topping this list is Pretium Resources, whose resources more than doubled thanks to commercial production at its Brucejack gold mine in British Columbia. So did those of Osisko Gold Royalties as it continues to buy metal streams, and Leagold Mining thanks to the acquisition of Brio Gold. Revenue decreases were registered by those at the bottom of this list, whether it was a little or as much as 20%. The biggest revenue shrinkage occurred at Imperial Metals, where production was suspended at its Mount Polley copwww.canadianminingjournal.com

Barrick Gold’s Cortez gold mine in Nevada, now part of the major’s Nevada Gold Mines joint venture with Newmont Goldcorp. Top right: First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama copper mine in Panama. CREDIT: FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS Bottom right: Pretium Resources’ Brucejack gold mine in British Columbia. CREDIT: PRETIUM RESOURCES

per-gold mine in B.C. as prices remained weak. The company’s remaining operating mine is Red Chris (now 70% owned by Newcrest Mining). Having revenue and turning it into net earnings is f raught with the vagaries of commodity markets, the rising cost of labour and equipment, capital expenditure demands, exchange rates, and more. Only 15 of our Top 40 managed to eke out net earnings in both 2017 and 2018. Three of them were precious metals producers – Wheaton with a seven-f old increase; Kirkland Lake Gold, where the revenue more than doubled; and North American Palladium, with a three-fold-plus jump. Others include Nutrien, with a six-f old increase as well as Turquoise Hill and Suncor, both of which managed to triple their earnings or better. One might also look at a company’s assets to rank them. Unsurprisingly, the top revenue generators had, f or the most part, the largest assets backing them up. No. 1 Nutrien has assets of close to $60 billion; No. 3 Suncor’s oilsands business has $57.6 billion; No. 4 Canadian Natural Resources has $39.6 billion; No. 2 Teck also has $39.6 billion; and No. 6 First Quantum has $30.5 billion. The biggest names in gold mining are also near the top of the asset list. No. 5 Barrick has $29.3 billion; No. 8 Goldcorp has $22 billion, No. 7 Kinross has $10.5 billion, No. 10 Yamana has $10.4 billion, and No. 9 Agnico Eagle has $10.2 billion. With the addition of No. 15 Turquoise Hill, which is the eighth largest asset holder with $17.3 billion, that rounds out the top 11 asset holders. Another method of looking at successful miners, is to compare revenue as a percentage of assets. Golden Star Resources led the way by having revenues worth 65% of its assets. North American Palladium was not f ar behind with 59%, then Kirkland Lake Gold with 54%. Is this a valid method of comparison? Perhaps. Taking assets – a measure of what is in the ground – and turning it into cash – revenue – is the whole point of any mine. A comAUGUST 2019

CREDIT: NEVADA GOLD MINES

pany that can grow both its assets and revenue year over year is on the path to longevity. This is the ﬁnal Top 40 compilation f or this writer. I am retiring this fall after more than four decades as an observer of the Canadian mining scene. As always, contact CMJ with your comments and suggestions.

Mines go deeper. Regulations are more complex. Stakeholders are paying attention. We’re not in mining because it’s easy.

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C A N A D A’ S

Canada’s Top 40 by gross revenue C$ millions 2018

Rank 2018

Previous Year Company

1 2 3 4

2 4 5

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

3 8 9 7 10 12 11 13 14 25 17 15 16 19 21 18 23 20 24 29 30 35 28 27 33

32 36 47 38 40 31 34

Nutrien Teck Resources Suncor Energy (oilsands only) Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only) Barrick Gold Corp. First Quantum Minerals Kinross Gold Corp. Goldcorp Agnico Eagle Mines Yamana Gold Lundin Mining Corp. Cameco Corp. Hudbay Minerals B2Gold Turquoise Hill Resources Centerra Gold Iamgold Pan American Silver Kirkland Lake Gold Wheaton Precious Metals Detour Gold TransAlta Utilities (Cdn coal only) Franco-Nevada Corp. Alamos Gold China Gold Int’l Resources Eldorado Gold Pretium Resources Torex Gold Resources SSR Mining Capstone Mining Corp. Trevali Mining Corp. Leagold Mining Osisko Gold Royalties Dundee Precious Metals Teranga Gold North American Palladium First Majestic Silver Semafo Imperial Metals Golden Star Resources

2017

Year end

Primary output

Net Earnings Revenue (Loss) Assets

Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31

Potash, Fertilizer Zinc, Copper, Coal Oilsands Oilsands

25,448.3 4,630.6 12,564.0 3,145.0 12,039.0 3,456.0 11,521.0 4,970.0

Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31 Dec 31

Gold Copper, Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Copper, Gold Uranium Copper, Zinc Gold Copper, Gold Gold, Copper Gold Silver Gold Gold, Silver Gold Coal Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Silver, Zinc, Lead Gold Copper, Gold Zinc, Lead, Silver Gold Gold, Silver Gold, Copper Gold Palladium Silver Gold Copper, Gold Gold

9,386.9 5,139.9 4,163.5 3,929.5 2,839.7 2,330.9 2,236.4 2,091.7 1,908.2 1,587.7 1,529.3 1,463.6 1,439.9 1,317.7 1,187.0 1,029.0 1,005.7 912.0 846.5 844.7 739.5 594.9 589.2 574.0 572.1 539.0 521.8 513.9 490.5 488.7 405.1 396.8 390.0 384.5 360.2 353.8

Net Earnings Revenue (Loss) Assets

58,970.6 22,429.0 736.2 39,626.0 11,910.0 2,489.0 57,641.0 9,723.0 1,009.0 39,634.0 7,072.0 2,588.0

40,304.7 37,028.0 56,961.0 28,705.0

(1,435.8) 29,329.8 10,852.7 1,964.7 658.4 30,504.0 4,289.8 (309.7) (33.2) 10,450.7 4,280.7 573.1 (5,377.1) 21,989.2 4,436.2 852.8 (423.4) 10,177.2 2,906.4 312.1 (385.8) 10,384.7 2,337.7 (256.7) 279.2 7,691.5 2,692.4 650.6 166.2 8,018.6 2,156.9 (204.7) 110.7 7,869.9 1,817.5 181.1 58.4 3,301.9 827.8 79.8 511.0 17,252.4 1,218.0 143.7 139.3 3,663.4 1,553.9 271.5 (25.5) 5,133.5 1,419.0 510.5 15.6 2,511.0 1,058.6 160.1 355.0 2,216.4 968.8 171.6 553.5 8,385.1 1,092.8 74.8 (1.3) 324.0 917.3 114.3 (19.0) 999.0 (88.0) 180.1 6,391.6 874.8 252.3 (106.7) 4,231.7 703.5 50.8 (5.4) 4,167.8 533.8 83.3 (492.0) 5,999.1 343.8 (27.7) 47.4 2,091.0 230.6 (21.4) 30.1 1,647.7 408.1 (16.3) (0.0) 1,971.3 581.6 120.1 (30.6) 1,731.6 557.9 71.4 (298.9) 1,070.1 428.3 26.2 11.8 1,338.6 251.0 (9.7) (105.6) 2,234.6 213.2 (42.8) 48.2 1,114.2 348.8 (0.5) 17.5 1,218.1 378.0 44.7 119.2 676.7 272.4 36.1 (264.4) 1,200.2 339.9 (69.7) (8.9) 1,340.5 335.7 30.6 (125.6) 1,573.9 453.1 77.1 (23.5) 541.7 404.9 50.3

32,799.2 28,023.4 10,571.7 28,103.8 10,193.8 11,357.2 8,147.2 7,778.7 6,127.5 3,480.0 16,632.0 3,592.8 5,151.1 2,583.3 1,925.6 7,365.6 3,133.0 6,205.8 4,303.1 4,186.6 6,597.0 2,167.6 1,513.9 1,992.6 1,815.0 1,529.5 675.2 2,516.3 1,095.5 849.4 582.7 1,012.7 1,332.8 1,723.8 467.1

FOOTNOTES: Nutrien: 2018 numbers estimated from figures supplied last year for PCS Potash and Agrium before they merged. Suncor: Oilsands only; assets are net book value. TransAlta: Canadian coal

24 | CANADIAN

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www.canadianminingjournal.com

HOW WE CHOOSE THE

TOP 40

To be eligible for CMJ’s Top 40 Canadian miners list companies must meet two of the following three criteria:

A hydraulic shovel places overburden in a haul truck at the Fort Hills site. CREDIT: SUNCOR

1 Be domiciled in Canada. 2 Trade on a Canadian stock exchange. 3 Have a significant share of an operating mine or advanced development.

The runners-up for the Top 40 this year are Gran Colombia Gold, Taseko Mines, Fortuna Silver Mines, Sierra Metals and Copper Mountain Mining.

Sometimes we have been tripped up and non-Canadian miners have slipped onto the list. However, we have put extra effort into checking the eligibility of all the miners on the current list.

Canadian dollars | All ﬁgures in the tables are expressed in millions of Canadian

dollars. The numbers of those companies reporting in U.S. dollars have been converted using the Bank of Canada’s average 2018 exchange rate: US$1 equals C$1.296.

We remain open to the suggestions of our readers.

Runners-up C$ millions

2018

2017

Net Net Rank Previous Earnings Earnings 2018 Year Company Year end Primary output Revenue (Loss) Assets Revenue (Loss) Assets

Gran Colombia Gold

Dec 31 Gold

348.0

(4.4)

583.1

279.2

47.7

583.2?

Taseko Mines

Dec 31 Copper, Molybdenum

343.9

(35.8)

972.7

378.3

34.3

988.7

Fortuna Silver Mines

Dec 31 Silver

1,019.3 347.45 85.9

915.8

341.2

44.1

44 49 Sierra Metals Dec 31 Copper, Silver. Gold, Zinc, Lead

301.2

33.4

461.9

265.8

(1.2)

441.4

296.0

(26.9)

701.7

304.1

67.3

667.9

AUGUST 2019

Copper Mountain Mining

Dec 31 Copper

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

C A N A D A’ S

TOP

Largest revenue gains year-over-year C$ millions

Rank 2018

Company

Primary output

Pretium Resources

Gold

Revenue Change Revenue 2018 Revenue 2017 2018/2017

589.2

230.6

+156%

Osisko Gold Royalties

Gold, Silver

490.5

213.2

+130%

Leagold Mining

Gold

513.9

251.0

+105%

B2Gold

Gold

Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only)

Oilsands

1,587.7

827.8

+92%

11,521.0

7,072.0

+63%

North American Palladium

Palladium

396.8

272.4

+46%

Torex Gold Resources

Gold

574.0

408.1

+41%

Dundee Precious Metals

Gold, Copper

488.7

348.8

+40%

China Gold Int’l Resources

Gold

739.5

533.8

+39%

Turquoise Hill Resources

Copper, Gold

1,529.3

1,218.0

+26%

Pan American Silver

Silver

1,317.7

1,058.6

+24%

Kirkland Lake Gold

Gold

Suncor Energy (oilsands only)

Oilsands

1,187.0

968.8

+23%

12,039.0

9,723.0

+23%

Trevali Mining Corp.

Zinc, Lead, Silver

521.8

428.3

+22%

Alamos Gold

Gold

844.7

703.5

+20%

5,139.9

4,289.8

+20%

390.0

339.9

+15%

First Quantum Minerals

Copper, Gold

First Majestic Silver

Silver

Iamgold

Gold

1,439.9

1,419.0

+15%

Semafo

Gold

384.5

335.7

+15%

25,448.3

22,429.0

+14%

1,005.7

917.3

+10%

Nutrien

Potash, Fertilizer

Detour Gold

Gold

Teranga Gold

Gold

Hudbay Minerals

Copper, Zinc

405.1

378.0

+7%

1,908.2

1,817.5

+5%

Teck Resources

Zinc, Copper, Coal

12,564.0

11,910.0

+5%

Yamana Gold

Gold

2,330.9

2,337.7

n/c

Agnico Eagle Mines

Gold

2,839.7

2,906.4

–2%

Eldorado Gold

Gold

594.9

343.8

–2%

SSR Mining

Silver, Zinc, Lead Gold

Cameco Corp.

Uranium

572.1

581.6

–2%

2,091.7

2,156.9

–3%

Capstone Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

539.0

557.9

–3%

Franco-Nevada Corp.

Gold

846.5

874.8

–3%

Kinross Gold Corp.

Gold

4,163.5

4,280.7

–3%

Centerra Gold

Gold, Copper

1,463.6

1,553.9

–6%

Wheaton Precious Metals

Gold, Silver

1,029.0

1,092.8

–6%

TransAlta Utilities (Cdn coal only)

Coal

912.0

999.0

–9%

Goldcorp

Gold

3,929.5

4,436.2

–11%

Golden Star Resources

Gold

353.8

404.9

–13%

Barrick Gold Corp.

Gold

9,386.9

10,852.7

–14%

Lundin Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

2,236.4

2,692.4

–17%

Imperial Metals

Copper, Gold

360.2

453.1

–21%

26 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

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Largest earnings gains year-over-year C$ millions

Rank 2018

% Change 2018/2017

2018 Net Earnings

2017 Net Earnings

553.5

74.8

+640%

4,630.6

736.2

+529%

511.0

143.7

+256%

3,456.0

1,009.0

+243%

119.2

36.1

+230%

355.0

171.6

+107%

4,970.0

2,588.0

+92%

2,489.0

+26%

Company

Primary output

Wheaton Precious Metals

Gold, Silver

Nutrien

Potash, Fertilizer

Turquoise Hill Resources

Copper, Gold

Suncor Energy (oilsands only)

Oilsands

North American Palladium

Palladium

Kirkland Lake Gold

Gold

Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only)

Oilsands

Teck Resources

Zinc, Copper, Coal

3,145.0

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AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

TOP

C A N A D A’ S

Asset changes year-over-year C$ millions

Rank 2018

Company

Primary output

Leagold Mining

Gold

Nutrien

Potash, Fertilizer

Teranga Gold

Gold

Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only)

Oilsands

North American Palladium

Palladium

Assets 2018

Assets 2017

Asset change 2018/2017

1,338.6

675.2

+98%

58,970.6

40,304.7

+46%

1,218.1

849.4

+43%

39,634.0

28,705.0

+38%

676.7

582.7

+35%

Hudbay Minerals

Copper, Zinc

7,869.9

6,127.5

+28%

First Majestic Silver

Silver

1,200.2

1,012.7

+19%

Golden Star Resources

Gold

541.7

467.1

+16%

Kirkland Lake Gold

Gold

2,216.4

1,925.6

+15%

8,385.1

7,365.6

+14%

30,504.0

28,023.4

+9%

Wheaton Precious Metals

Gold, Silver

First Quantum Minerals

Copper, Gold

Torex Gold Resources

Gold

1,647.7

1,513.9

+9%

Teck Resources

Zinc, Copper, Coal

39,626.0

37,028.0

+7%

17,252.4

16,632.0

+4%

8,018.6

7,778.7

+3%

Turquoise Hill Resources

Copper, Gold

Cameco Corp.

Uranium

Franco-Nevada Corp.

Gold

6,391.6

6,205.8

+3%

Centerra Gold

Gold, Copper

3,663.4

3,592.8

+2%

Detour Gold

Gold

3,198.5

3,133.0

+2%

Dundee Precious Metals

Gold, Copper

1,114.2

1,095.5

+2%

Suncor Energy (oilsands only)

Oilsands

57,641.0

56,961.0

+1%

Semafo

Gold

1,340.5

1,332.8

+1%

Agnico Eagle Mines

Gold

10,177.2

10,193.8

n/c

Iamgold

Gold

5,133.5

5,151.1

n/c

China Gold Int’l Resources

Gold

4,167.8

4,186.6

n/c

Kinross Gold Corp.

Gold

10,450.7

10,571.7

–1%

SSR Mining

Silver, Zinc, Lead Gold

1,971.3

1,992.6

–1%

Alamos Gold

Gold

4,231.7

4,303.1

–2%

Pan American Silver

Silver

2,511.0

2,583.3

–3%

Yamana Gold

Gold

10,384.7

11,357.2

–9%

Eldorado Gold

Gold

5,999.1

6,597.0

–9%

Imperial Metals

Copper, Gold

1,573.9

1,723.8

–9%

Lundin Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

7,691.5

8,147.2

–6%

B2Gold

Gold

3,301.9

3,480.0

–5%

Capstone Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

1,731.6

1,815.0

–5%

Pretium Resources

Gold

2,091.0

2,167.6

–4%

29,329.8

32,799.2

–11%

2,234.6

2,516.3

–11%

21,989.2

28,103.8

–22%

1,070.1

1,529.5

–30%

Barrick Gold Corp.

Gold

Osisko Gold Royalties

Gold, Silver

Goldcorp

Gold

Trevali Mining Corp.

Zinc, Lead, Silver

28 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

www.canadianminingjournal.com

Net earnings as a per cent of revenue C$ millions

2018 Rank 2018

Company

Primary output

20 4 15 19 36 3 2 23 1 6 11 16 34 12 27 13 28 14 35 32 18

Wheaton Precious Metals Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only) Turquoise Hill Resources Kirkland Lake Gold North American Palladium Suncor Energy (oilsands only) Teck Resources Franco-Nevada Corp. Nutrien First Quantum Minerals Lundin Mining Corp. Centerra Gold Dundee Precious Metals Cameco Corp. Pretium Resources Hudbay Minerals Torex Gold Resources B2Gold Teranga Gold Leagold Mining Pan American Silver

Gold, Silver Oilsands Copper, Gold Gold Palladium Oilsands Zinc, Copper, Coal Gold Potash, Fertilizer Copper, Gold Copper, Gold Gold, Copper Gold, Copper Uranium Gold Copper, Zinc Gold Gold Gold Gold Silver

Revenue

1,029.0 11,521.0 1,529.3 1,187.0 396.8 12,039.0 12,564.0 846.5 25,448.3 5,139.9 2,236.4 1,463.6 488.7 2,091.7 589.2 1,908.2 574.0 1,587.7 405.1 513.9 1,317.7

Net Earnings

553.5 4,970.0 511.0 355.0 119.2 3,456.0 3,145.0 180.1 4,630.6 658.4 279.2 139.3 48.2 166.2 47.4 110.7 30.1 58.4 17.5 11.8 15.6

Earnings as % of revenue

54% 43% 33% 30% 30% 29% 25% 21% 18% 13% 12% 10% 10% 8% 8% 6% 5% 4% 4% 2% 1%

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CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

TOP

C A N A D Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S

Revenue as a per cent of assets C$ millions

2018

Revenue

Assets

Revenue % of Assets

Rank 2018

Company

Primary output

Golden Star Resources

Gold

353.8

541.7

65%

North American Palladium

Palladium

396.8

676.2

59%

Kirkland Lake Gold

Gold

1,187.0

2,216.4

54%

Pan American Silver

Silver

1,317.7

2,511.0

52%

Trevali Mining Corp.

Zinc, Lead, Silver

521.8

1,070.1

49%

B2Gold

Gold

1,587.7

3,301.9

48%

Dundee Precious Metals

Gold, Copper

488.7

1,114.2

44%

Nutrien

Potash, Fertilizer

25,448.3

58,970.6

43%

Centerra Gold

Gold, Copper

1,463.6

3,663.4

40%

Kinross Gold Corp.

Gold

4,163.5

10,450.7

40%

Leagold Mining

Gold

513.9

1,338.6

38%

Torex Gold Resources

Gold

574.0

1,647.7

35%

Teranga Gold

Gold

405.1

1,218.1

33%

Barrick Gold Corp.

Gold

9,386.9

29,329.8

32%

Teck Resources

Zinc, Copper, Coal

12,564.0

39,626.0

32%

First Majestic Silver

Silver

390.0

1,200.2

32%

Detour Gold

Gold

1,005.7

3,198.5

31%

Capstone Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

539.0

1,731.6

31%

SSR Mining

Silver, Zinc, Lead Gold

Canadian Natural Resources (oilsands only)

Oilsands

Semafo

Gold

Lundin Mining Corp.

Copper, Gold

Agnico Eagle Mines

Gold

Pretium Resources

Gold

Iamgold

Cameco Corp.

17 7

572.1

1,971.3

29%

11,521.0

39,634.0

29%

384.5

1,340.5

29%

2,236.4

7,691.5

29%

2,839.7

10,177.2

28%

589.2

2,091.0

28%

Gold

1,439.9

5,133.5

28%

Uranium

2,091.7

8,018.6

26%

Hudbay Minerals

Copper, Zinc

1,908.2

7,869.9

24%

Imperial Metals

Copper, Gold

360.2

1,573.9

23%

Yamana Gold

Gold

2,330.9

10,384.7

22%

Osisko Gold Royalties

Gold, Silver

490.5

2,234.6

22%

Suncor Energy (oilsands only)

Oilsands

12,039.0

57,641.0

21%

Alamos Gold

Gold

844.7

4,231.7

20%

Goldcorp

Gold

3,929.5

21,989.2

18%

China Gold Intâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Resources

Gold

739.5

4,167.8

18%

First Quantum Minerals

Copper, Gold

5,139.9

30,504.0

17%

Franco-Nevada Corp.

Gold

846.5

6,391.6

13%

Wheaton Precious Metals

Gold, Silver

1,029.0

8,385.1

12%

Eldorado Gold

Gold

594.9

5,999.1

10%

Turquoise Hill Resources

Copper, Gold

1,529.3

17,252.4

30 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

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32 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

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AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

C A N A D A’ S

TOP

Fertilizer giant Nutrien takes top spot

CEO Chuck Magro talks strategy, demographic trends and digitalization By Janice Leuschen

he merger of Potash Corp. and Agrium, which became ofﬁcial at the beginning of 2018, resulted in the formation of Nutrien. The world’s largest fertilizer company – and No. 1 miner on CMJ’s Top 40 list, the post-merger Nutrien is continuing to evolve and grow. “We created an integrated agricultural company, so right from the ground – mining of the material, making natural gas, making urea and ammonia fertilizer – all the way through to the farm,” said Chuck Magro, president and CEO of Nutrien, in an interview in July. “That’s what’s really unique about the company,” he added. “We don’t really start with mining or our production or our products. We always start with the farmer and work backwards to whatever a farmer needs to grow a crop.” Nutrien is the world’s largest potash producer with about 20% of the global market share, operating six mines in Western Canada. “In Canada we are blessed to have some the highest-quality, lowest-cost reserves in the world,” Magro said. “Our shareholders have invested nearly $10 million in the past decade to grow our

The middle class on the planet is expanding and they want to eat healthier, more nutritious food, and that’s where potash comes in.

capacities to meet the demand.” Potash continues to be in high demand, but during the last cycle, there was an oversupply in the market. According to Magro, the market is now in a fragile state of recovery. “Our demand has grown consistently between 2.5 and four – CHUCK M AGRO, per cent per year, because it’s NUTR IE N P RE SIDE NT AND CEO backed up by an ever-increasing demand for food,” Magro said. Demand for potash is driven by the increasing population of the world – from around 7.5 billion people today and headed toward 9.5 billion people by the year 2050, Magro said. “The demand for potash is directly corelated to these macro trends of increasing population and wealth. The middle class on the planet is expanding and they want to eat healthier, more nutritious food, and that’s where potash comes in.” The demand for nitrogen and phosphate is similarly strong and growing. “When things were very good, all of the industry built more nitrogen and phosphate capacity,” Magro said. “They are growing at a little lower rate than potash, but the demand growth has been good on all of those products, and the market is still improving

Top: Nutrien’s Rocanville potash mine in Saskatchewan. CREDIT: NUTRIEN

34 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

www.canadianminingjournal.com

and recovering from the oversupply.” Even with strong demand for its product, Nutrien is not resting. The company has made significant business changes since the merger closed in January 2018. “When we announced the merger, we set a synergies cost target of $500 million,” Magro said. “We’ve exceeded that. After the first quarter in 2019, we delivered $620 million.” The savings were found through the pooling of purchasing power and lowering transportation costs. “The second highest cost after making it is moving it to our customers.” Magro said. “There was a lot of supply chain logistics savings, by consolation of distribution points, looking for better freight and trucking rates, and also looking at our network. Now we’ve optimized which plants supply which customers.” The company plans to continue to help farmers succeed by, for example, making environmentally friendly products. “It’s a really important goal for Nutrien to reduce our carbon footprint,” Magro said. “We now have a nitrogen product that is coated with a special polymer that ensures that the nitrogen is always sent to the crop when the temperature and moisture conditions are optimized.” Digital adoption Changes are also being made to the mining part of the business with the introduction of new digital technology. “With the advances today in robotics, sensor technology, big data analytics, there is a big push in our potash mining business to improve optimization of our underground mining, because it’s safer,” Magro said. “The more we can get technology involved in the more hazardous parts of our operation, the safer it is. But it will also improve reliability in production efficiencies.” The changes in underground mining include the introduction of electric vehicles, which make up a significant portion of Nutrien’s mining vehicle fleet. “We are moving our fleet away from carbon-based fuel sources to more electric vehicles, because they are safer equipment when they are underground,” Magro said. Nutrien’s six potash mines in Canada have more production capacity to be utilized, so there are no plans to open any new mines. “In our potash business, we have 18 million tonnes of production capacity and we are only running our operation at 13 million tonnes,” Magro said. “So, there’s five million tonnes of inherent capacity. We can go beyond the 18 million tonnes in the six mines. We have already pre-invested to drive a lot more potash production out of Western Canada as the market requires it.” Magro notes that if more production is needed beyond the 18 million tonnes, Nutrien will invest in more mining machinery, above ground equipment and mill capacity. Beyond that, the company will let its customers guide its future offerings. “We are always looking for new products and services,” Magro said. “We are always looking to our product portfolio, to see where we can find products that will help farmers.” CMJ AUGUST 2019

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CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

NEW MINES

New By Alisha Hiyate

beginnings

Canada has several new mines to celebrate – with more on the way

here are a raf t of advanced projects with feasibility level studies that have been looking f or ﬁnancing in the past several years. But not many have actually found the capital to proceed with construction, and as a result, when CMJ went looking for new mines to report on this year, we found a very short list. Last year we noted that junior miners had to get creative with ﬁnancing in order to move their projects ahead. Thi year, that remains the case, with majors also being cautious where they invest their money – and construction of many projects being postponed until market conditions improve. Eagle When it has its first gold pour in September, Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine will be a shot in the arm for the Yukon – especically considering the Minto mine has been on care and maintenance since last f all. The company is hiring 260 people

36 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

by the end of the year to staff the operation and is targeting Yukon residents to make up at least 50% of its workf orce. Construction of the open-pit, heap-leach operation began in August 2017 and Victoria announced a $505-million f inan ing supported by Orion Mine Finance, Osisko Gold Royalties and Caterpillar Financial Services last March. Construction was 95% complete in early June. “Construction of the Eagle gold mine is nearing completion ahead of schedule and the operations team is ready to take advantage by advancing additional ore delivery to the heap leach pad in 2019,” John McConnell, Victoria Gold’s president and CEO said in a release. “With gold approaching an all-time high in Canadian dollar terms, 70% of our costs in Canadian dollars, and first gold production in September, Victoria is perf ectly timed to become Canada’s next gold producer.” Thecompany was ahead of schedule on

several fronts in June, including commissioning of the primary crusher and overland conveyor which will transport ore to the heap-leach f acility. The secondary/ tertiary crushing facility was expected to be commissioned in late June. Commissioning at the gold recovery plant was 75% complete. First ore to the leach pad was expected in July. In June 2019, Orion increased its stake in Victoria to 37.1% when it purchased all of Osisko’s 154.5 million common shares. The company does not expect any changes to the board of directors as a result of the transaction. Located 85 km f rom the town of Mayo, Eagle has excellent access to infrastructure, including year-round road access. The site has also been connected to grid power. The US$370-million mine is expected to produce 190,000 oz. gold per year at cash costs of US$550 per oz. or AISC (including royalties) of US$750 per oz. www.canadianminingjournal.com

David

The33,700-tonne-per-day operation has a projected mine lif e of 10 years and a strip ratio of 0.95 to 1. At a gold price of US$1,250 per oz., a 2016 f easibility study pegged Eagle’s post-tax net present value (NPV) at $508 million and its internal rate of return (IRR) at 29%. Eagle hosts reserves of 2.66 million oz. gold in 123 million tonnes grading 0.67 g/t gold in the Eagle and Olive deposits. Meliadine Agnico Eagle Mines’ Meliadine mine in Nunavut had its f irst gold pour in February 2019, and achieved commercial production in May. Agnico acquired the project, located in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, in 2010 and approved construction in 2017. The gold miner also operates the Meadowbank mine, 290 km to the northwest. Meliadine, which contains proven and probable reserves of 3.8 million oz. gold AUGUST 2019

in 16.7 million tonnes grading 6.97 g/t gold, is f orecast to produce 230,000 oz. this year and 385,000 oz. in 2020. Th underground and open pit operation has a mine life of 14 years. Theproject is Agnico’s largest in terms of resources. In addition to reserves, it hosts 26 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 3.81 g/t gold for 3.2 million oz. and 13.5 million inferred tonnes grading 6 g/t gold for 2.6 million oz. Until 2023, mining at Meliadine will be underground only, with access by decline. Each stope, mined by long-hole methods, is backf illed with cemented pastef ill (primary stopes) or dry rockf il (secondary stopes). The operation f ilter tailings to produce dry-stack tailings. Lamaque Eldorado Gold’s Lamaque mine in Val-d’Or, Que., achieved commercial production at the end of March, af ter celebrating its f irst gold pour last

Left: Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine in the Yukon, in June. CREDIT: VICTORIA GOLD Agnico Eagle’s Meliadine mine in Nunavut celebrated its first gold pour in February. CREDIT: AGNICO EAGLE

December. Over a seven year mine life, the underground mine is f orecast to produce an average of 117,000 oz. gold per year at cash costs of US$516 per oz. and AISC of US$717 per oz. Ore from the Triangle zone at Lamaque is being processed at the existing (ref urbished) Sigma mill, which contributed to the mine’s low capex of under $200 million. Eldorado Gold acquired Lamaque in 2017 through a takeover of Integra Gold. A pref easibility study released in March 2018 projected that Lamaque has an after-tax IRR of 34.3% and an NPV of US$205 million at a 5% discount rate and using a gold price of US$1,300 per oz. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

NEW MINES Eldorado Gold’s Lamaque gold mine in Quebec achieved commercial production in late March. CREDIT: ELDORADO GOLD

Eldorado is planning 37,000 metres of exploration drilling this year to expand resources in the lower part of the Triangle deposit. Borden Commercial production is also expected this year at Borden, Newmont Goldcorp’s electric mine in northern Ontario, in the second half of 2019. See our coverage of Borden in February 2019 and October 2018. Under construction Projects currently under construction in Canada include Glencore’s Onaping Depth, Vale’s Copper Clif f Deep and Agnico Eagle’s Whale Tail deposit. In early 2018, Glencore approved the $700-million Onaping Depth project. Part of Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (INO), Onaping Depth is located at 2.6 km depth, below the Craig mine. Themine is expected to begin production in 2023/24. Given the heat, distance and ventilation challenges of Onaping Depth’s location, the project took many years of planning. Recent advances in battery electric technology have ultimately made the project economic. Glencore projects that the use of EVs will reduce energy usage f or ventilation by 44% and f or cooling equipment by 30%.

Lateral development at the project has been carried out by DMC Mining, while Cementation was awarded the contract to develop the 7.2-metre-diameter production shaft. Theinternal shaft will be located about 1 km horizontally f rom the existing Craig shaft, and will involve setting up an underground headf rame. The shaf t will start at the 1,200-metre level and extend to the 2,630-metre level. Onaping Depth contains mineable indicated resources of 13.8 million tonnes grading 2.25% nickel and 1.02% copper. Also in Sudbury, Vale announced it would go ahead with a $760-million investment in its Copper Clif f Deep project last year. It, too, will develop the deep mine as an all-electric operation. Thework includes the complete refurbishment of the Copper Clif f Complex South Shaf t, which was shut down in 2008. Thedeposits Vale is targeting are close

to the South Shaft. The shaft rehabilitation and ventilation work should be completed in the second half of 2019 with full production starting in 2020-21. In Nunavut, Agnico Eagle is nearing commercial production at the Whale Tail deposit, part of its Amaruq property. Located 50 km northwest of Agnico’s Meadowbank gold mine, Whale Tail is being developed as a satellite deposit to Meadowbank. Final permits were received in July 2018 and development began immediately. The open pit project is slated f or commercial production in the third quarter. Whale Tail has a 7-year mine life and holds 2.9 million oz. in proven and probable reserves in 24.9 million tonnes grading 3.59 g/t gold. Af ter a f inancial setback early this year, it looks like Nemaska Lithium may soon be back on track at its Whabouchi lithium mine and electrochemical plant in Quebec.

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38 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

www.canadianminingjournal.com

Left: Agnico Eagle’s Amaruq project in January. Commercial production is expected to begin in the third quarter. CREDIT: AGNICO EAGLE MINES

Last spring, Nemaska announced a $1.1-billion f inancing to build the $800-million mine, located in the James Bay region, and the plant, in Shawinigan. The company had expected to begin production of spodumene concentrate in the third quarter of 2019 with the Shawinigan plant producing lithium hydroxide and

lithium carbonate a year later. However, in February, the company announced in needed another $375 million to complete construction. The f unds are required to meet the drawdown conditions outlined in the company’s streaming agreement with Orion Mine Finance and its senior

secured bonds. In July, Nemaska announced a proposed $600-million investment in the project by London-based Pallinghurst Group that would allow it to finish construction. Pallinghurst would invest up to $200 million in a private placement at 25¢ per share, and would guarantee up to $400 million by way of a standby agreement on a rights of f ering at the same price. The initial $200-million investment would give Pallinghurst a 46% stake in the company. Shareholders will get to vote on the proposal in or before October. Proven and probable reserves at Whabouchi (open pit and underground) total 37 million tonnes grading 1.4% Li2O. CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

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NEW MINES The project has a mine life of 33 years At Western Potash’s Milestone potash project, pilot-scale production (less than 150,000 tonnes per year) is expected to begin in 2020. The company began production drilling at the project, 35 km southeast of Regina, Sask., in July. Milestone will employ horizontal drilling and selective dissolution techniques, a new method for Canada and, Western Potash says, a lower impact method than solution mining. The f irst phase of the project has a 12-year mine life. Theconstruction contract f or above ground f acilities, installation of equipment and other work was awarded in June to contractor Stuart Olson. Waiting in the wings Miners are choosing when and where to invest their capital very carefully. Agnico Eagle’s Akasaba West open-pit project, a satellite deposit of its Goldex mine in Quebec, and Iamgold’s Côté gold project

Western Potash’s Milestone potash project in Saskatchewan in May. CREDIT: WESTERN POTASH

in Ontario are both on hold for now. Centerra Gold has received permits it needs to being construction at its Kemess Underground project in B.C., but hasn’t yet made the decision to proceed. Others, such as Newmont Goldcorp’s Coffee project in the Yukon, are in permitting.

As f or juniors, Pure Gold has not yet made a production decision at its past-producing Madsen project in Red Lake, Ont., but a recent $47.5-million financing will allow it to continue exploration and development work. Look f or news on these projects in future issues. CMJ

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COMPANY PROFILE

Maestro

rolls up its sleeves to facilitate the digital mine

Maestro Digital Mines’ Plexus PowerNet. CREDIT: MAESTRO DIGITAL MINES

By Alisha Hiyate

aestro Digital Mines cof ounder and vice-president of marketing and sales Michael Gribbons isn’t above playing barista at the espresso station at the company’s Lively, Ont., offi during a visit by CMJ. In f act, Gribbons not only makes a mean latte, but he also grabs a mop and bucket to clean up a spill made by a colleague in the kitchen. His attitude seems to sum up nicely the way things work at Maestro, a fast-growing, roll-up-your-sleeves type of company. With products now in over 125 mines around the world since the company’s inception in 2011, Maestro runs lean, with fewer than 25 employees. Maestro’s initial offering in the underground mining space was its Vigilante AQS air monitoring solution. Now, its product range includes real-time air quality monitoring, fan and dust monitoring equipment, and also extends into communications solutions that are essential to the digitalization of underground mining. Being located in Sudbury, Ont., with its dense network of mining suppliers, mines, and R&D and academic institutions, has helped the company develop its portfolio of products, Gribbons says.

AUGUST 2019

I still remember one gentleman, he said, ‘Mike, don’t thank me.’ I said, what do you mean by that?’ He said, ‘We’ve mentioned this to other companies. But you’re the only ones who listened. – MICHAEL GRIBBONS, VICE-PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND SALES

“It’s true about the collaboration here. When we f irst started the company, we would interview mining companies – determining their current and f uture bottle necks. Then we’d come back, have a couple more meetings, and we’d show them the product,” he says. At the end of the process, Gribbons would thank companies f or their f eedback, but it turns out that Maestro wasn’t getting any special treatment. “I still remember one gentleman, he said, ‘Mike, don’t thank me.’ I said, what do you mean by that?’ He said, ‘We’ve mentioned this to other companies. But you’re the only ones who listened.’” The concerns that Maestro has heard from mining companies have to do with saf ety, productivity and ef f icienc – and increasingly, digitalization. “We used to promote the Vigilante on blast clearance – get your guys back at the face quicker because you know when the contaminants are gone,” Gribbons says. “The next stage is f orget about getting guys in earlier, let’s get the equipment in earlier, doing some work while they get underground. And the third phase will be let’s totally remove them f rom CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

COMPANY PROFILE the working area – only have men in the heading area when they’re needed.” Each stage of digitalization adds productivity while enhancing saf ety, and Maestro has positioned itself as an enabler of this process. Thatgoes some way toward explaining how the company has established a broad reach and relationships with clients such as Barrick Gold, Newmont Goldcorp, Hecla Mining, Vale and Rio Tinto with a small crew. Maestro uses outside contractors to stuff its circuit boards, but all IP, design, testing and assembly is done in-house. In fact, one of the first things it acquired was an environmental chamber, says cof ounder David Ballantyne, vice-president of development and technology. Th chamber reproduces the challenging temperature, humidity depth conditions of an underground mine to test components and products. In the f irst half of 2019, Maestro launched two products – Zephyr AQS, a

more basic version of its Vigilante AQS system that delivers 75% of the applications at half the cost, and its Ethernet I/O, which aims to reduce the number of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) mines need underground. It’s also working on new products, including an LTE version of the Vigilante AQS. Plexus PowerNet While Maestro started off in ventilation, its Plexus PowerNet product, introduced in May 2017, has become central to its of f ering. The product was designed to tackle one of the biggest obstacles to digitalization of underground mines – the problem of having reliable communications at the mine f ace, where it’s

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David Ballantyne

needed most. The active f ace is one of the most dangerous areas of a mine, but removing workers f rom the hazards by using tele-remote equipment requires a reliable, high-bandwidth data connection. Most mines use f iber optic technology f or communications, but while fiber is great for data reliability and throughput, fiber cable is fragile, and can be easily damaged by machinery or blasts. It’s also dif f icul to extend the f ragile cable to the heading quickly because it takes skilled hands to install and contractors aren’t always readily available during mine development. During a presentation at the CIM convention in May, Newmont Goldcorp’s Michel Samovojski, technology co-ordinator for the Canadian northeast region, outlined the limitations of f ibe technology in underground mines. “Extending delicate fiber optic cable to the high-traffi heading where the data is essential is challenging,” he said. Samovojski noted that machinery sometimes breaks the f iber cable, interrupting connectivity. “That can pose production delay with the tele-remote operation,” he said. “Terminating the fiber underground is always a challenge, you need to have that kind of expertise and it consumes a lot of time and it’s expensive. Even to do the splicing, you need to have a special tool for that and with the water underground, it’s a challenge.” As a result, Newmont Goldcorp’s Borden gold mine in northern Ontario is one of 21 mines globally that has installed Maestro’s Plexus PowerNet as a complement to fiber or Wi-Fi The Plexus system is designed to carry both power and data over a f lex www.canadianminingjournal.com

Instead of delicate fiber optic cable, Maestro’s Plexus PowerNet uses a flexible, copper coaxial cable, which is easy to install. CREDIT: MAESTRO DIGITAL MINES

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a solution like the Plexus and don’t know that such an alternative exists. “Our competition is not a company, our competition is the conventional, old way of doing things,” Gribbons says. “We aim to change the way that underground mines communicate and to strip out complexity in automation jobs and make configuration flexible and easy. We CMJ make the complex simple.”

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ble, copper coaxial cable that is durable and rugged enough to withstand harsh underground conditions. It eliminates the need for a separate power cable and can be integrated into any kind of IP based network – Cisco or otherwise. Maestro’s marketing director Shannon Katary likens the Plexus nodes to Lego pieces that can easily be put in, taken out and relocated as required. “What you choose to connect the power nodes to depends on the client’s needs,” she says, including IP phones, tablets, air quality sensors, or tele-remote equipment. “The client can use the same infrastructure over and over and it can be customized and built to their standards.” The Plexus nodes, which connect to wireless access points or various IP devices, can be installed up to 1.5 km apart. The Borden crew quickly became comf ortable with the technology, Samovojski says. “The Plexus PowerNet is proven technology at Borden,” he said. “It works, it’s easy to install, and easy to advance.” Borden’s array of connected technology includes tele-remote operation of LHDs from surface, vibration sensors, a PoE+ camera, tele-op laser safety barrier and an IP based blasting system. “With the connected mine, it’s critical for production to have good connectivity and also to monitor activity and safety,” Samovojski noted, adding that the Plexus technology also helps provide low latency communications at Borden. “When we connect a bunch of things on the same segment of the network, or even with fiber, we can have latency spikes inside the network, so it’s important to have a good strategy to implement quality of service – to be sure we always prioritize real-time technology like the tele-remote equipment or the camera system.”

Maestro is keen on expanding its reach – in the U.S., in Latin America and Africa. Gribbons wants to more than double the number of mines that employ Maestro products this year. While the benef its of the company’s air quality and other monitoring systems are easy to understand, the Plexus has been a little more challenging to sell. Th main barriers to adoption are mainly the fact that most companies have never seen

R&D

Tapping into Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new mining TAC

LAKE

44 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

www.canadianminingjournal.com

New technology access centre at Cambrian to help SMEs develop, test and proptotype tech By Alisha Hiyate

udbury’s mining innovation cluster just got stronger. In June, Cambrian College was awarded $1.75 million in funding for a new technology access centre (TAC), dubbed the Centre for Smart Mining. TACs are specialized R&D hubs affiliated with Canadian colleges that provide industry partners with access to equipment, specialized training opportunities, and applied research projects. “I think it will definitely enhance the mining innovation ecosystem that we already have here in Sudbury,” said Mike Commito, the college’s director of applied research and innovation. “With Cambrian having greater resources to deploy when it comes to R&D and applied research in the mining industry, it really allows all the partners in the ecosystem to do more with that,” he said, adding that includes miners, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and other organizations doing similar work, including Laurentian Univeristy, Norcat and CEMI. The funding announcement was part of Canada’s network of technology access centres (TACs), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). There are now 47 TACs across Canada – only two of which – the Centre for Smart Mining and the Centre de métallurgie du Québec in Trois-Rivières – that are focused on the mining sector. Cambrian has been doing applied research – mostly with the mining industry – for the past 10 years, Commito says, but will now focus those efforts through the TAC. “We’re focusing a lot of our efforts on smart mining and the digitization that we’re seeing in the industry. But with smart mining, we’re also looking at things from an environmental perspective all the way up to Internet of Things integration.” The $1.75 in funding over five years is

operational funding that will go towards personnel. A new manager for the Centre for Smart Mining, Steve Gravel, began in July, and will be putting together a dedicated team of researchers to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) develop, test and prototype their technology, as well

as helping them reach mining clientele. “We see ourselves as the proving ground between SMEs looking to sell into the mining industry new and complex equipment and services and the end users – the big mining giants that we’re all familiar with,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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Top left: Cambrian College campus in Sudbury, Ont. Bottom left: The Centre for Smart Mining’s new 5-axis CNC machine. CREDIT: CAMBRIAN COLLEGE AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

R&D That last piece alone can go a long way to accelerating the timeWe’re focusing a line to adoption, Gravel says. lot of our effort The manadate for any TAC is on smart mining nationwide, so the beneﬁt of the and the digitization research done through the Smart Centre for Mining has to accrue we’re seeing in the within Canada. However, the industry. Centre could work with multina– STE VE GRAVE L, M ANAGE R, tionals with a meaningful presCENTRE FOR SM AR T M INING ence in Canada. Working with a TAC has the advantage of additional resources for applied research – either through new streams of funding that are only available through TACs or by tapping into Canada’s network of 47 TACs at colleges across the country. Gravel says. “So companies looking to derisk the adoption of that new technology can come to the TAC to do prototype development, proof of concept activities, and then something that’s really important for the mining industry is proof of value – so not only understanding that this works technically but how will this ﬁt within our existing process?”

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New equipment Cambrian has also received $4 million from federal and provincial government for new equipment, including $2 million in funding from Ontario government’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. announced in July. While the funding proposal was not linked to the TAC, the equipment will be used by the Smart Centre for Mining’s technical team. Cambrian has already procured a couple of pieces of equipment, including a 3-D printer and a 5-axis CNC machine. “We have a 3-axis CNC right now and that limits us to the complexity of the part type we can make. So this is really just the next generation of that technology,” Gravel explains. “It has a high capacity to be able to make very complex parts for machines. When we’re prototyping it’s very important to be able to make custom pieces of equipment and this will be a great tool in that toolbelt.” So far, there are five projects that fall under the TAC at Cambrian, a mixture of short-term fee-for-service projects that might last for three months and longer-term research projects that are typically six to 12-month engagements. Longer-term projects are funded by a mixture of industry funding and government funding that must be applied for under specific program streams. While Gravel can’t discuss specifics, he says the themes of the TAC’s current projects include undergound personnel tracking, smart containerization and material tracking to remediation of tailings. “I expect most of the new work to be in digitization, advanced communication and IoT,” he says. “Within those areas, I expect machine health monitoring to be a very popular one for us, leading toward predictive and preventative maintenance.” Digitization is where the Centre for Smart Mining will be focusing its efforts, in particular, in pairing solutions with the end users who need them. “I think what we’re going to be focusing on largely is that transational piece from companies that don’t already sell into the mining industry that have solutions that could be adapted for it and then doing that transational applied research to get those pieces of solutions to be able to fit the mining environment.” CMJ www.canadianminingjournal.com

MINE COSTING

Commodity prices: Photo: helt2, iStockimages.com

Boon or bane of tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mines By Sam Blakely and Colin Finkbeiner

t is dif f icul f or a mining company to develop new mines today. Prof itabi ity is the endgame of any project, but with rising inf lation, energy and equipment costs, and higher taxes, the ability to

AUGUST 2019

build a new mine can seem out of reach. Most of these costs can be estimated and accounted for, but fluctuating commodity prices can make or break a mine. In the last fifteen years, we have seen

just how volatile commodity prices can be (Figure 1). Af ter a period of rapid growth, prices crashed along with the stock market in 2008, clawed their way CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

MINE COSTING Figure 1: Copper price Cents (U.S.) per pound London Metal Exchange (average annual) 450 400 350 300

Copper

250 200 150 100 50

back up, and then crashed again in 2013. In the six years since, commodity prices have experienced a lot of change, but have not reached the highs they saw in 2011 and 2012. As a result, many latestage projects and mines were placed into long-term maintenance or shut down completely. Many companies changed their areas of business or went bankrupt. Aim A need to better understand the sensitivity to commodity prices of projects nearing the end of the development pipeline has been identif ied by CostMine and

48 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

2015

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Of the 42 projects in the database fittin these criteria worldwide, 11 were selected based on the quality of information and most recent activity. Projects across Asia (3), Oceania (3), North America (2) and South America (3) are represented.

Mining Intelligence (divisions of Glacier Resource Innovation Group). Method The concept is simple, create economic models of a sample of f easibility level mining projects so the commodity price can readily be varied, and sensitivity assessed. We will f ocus on proposed open pit copper projects, specif ically those projects f urthest along in the development pipeline. To get a reasonable sample size, we searched the Mining Intelligence database f or open pit copper projects,

limiting the scope to f easibility-stage projects. This limit ensured that each project in our study had undergone the most advanced technical work while still being within the pre-mine phase. Of the 42 projects in the database f itting these criteria worldwide, 11 were selected based on the quality of information and most recent activity. Projects across Asia (3), Oceania (3), North America (2) and South America (3) are represented. Th sum of proposed production rates for the 11 projects is roughly 320,000 tonnes of ore per day. About 80% of this rate is accounted for by three large projects with mining rates of more than 40,000 tonnes per day. The dif f erence is made up by eight smaller projects of less than 40,000 tonnes per day. To build accurate economic models for the 11 projects, we extracted relevant information from the most recent technical reports for each project. This information included reserve estimates, strip ratio, pre-stripping requirements, proposed production rate, mine life, concentrate transportation costs, etc. Using this inf ormation, we built economic models of each project using Mining Intelligence Evaluate sof tware, an application built to provide users with realistic capital and operating costs for surface mining projects and conduct economic analyses. We then varied the copper price in the application to determine sensitivity. Capital and operating cost estimates produced by Evaluate and used in this study www.canadianminingjournal.com

Figure 3: Small Feasibility Level Copper Projects

Net Sum of Cash Flows (million USD)

8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 -2,000 -4,000 -6,000 -8,000

800 600 400 200 0 -200 -400

Cumulative

Copper price (USD/lb) Project Project

are pref easibility level and account f or mines, processing plants and, if required, camps and remote inf rastructure. Local tax rates and royalties (where applicable) have been accounted for. Itemized costs were sourced in 2018.

Project

active copper projects at production rates below 40,000 tonnes ore per day. The are also more likely to remain above break even at low copper prices and show less sensitivity to the copper price compared

3.75

3.5

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-600 2.5

Net Sum of Cash Flows (million USD)

Figure 2: Large Feasibility Level Copper Projects

Copper price (USD/lb)

to large, more than 40,000 tonne-perday projects. Most small projects show net sum of cash flows ranging from lows of about US$50-450 million to highs of US$450-650 million. CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

Results We will be presenting the net sum of cash flows to investigate sensitivity. Th figures presented here are not net present values and do not account f or the time value of money. Rather, the net sum of cash f lows are simply the result of subtracting expenses (capital, operating, taxes, royalties) f rom revenues over the life of each mine. The results f or the three largest projects (more than 40,000 tonnes per day) at copper prices ranging from US$2.50 to US$4 per lb. are presented in Figure 2. Also included is the total net sum of cash flows of all three large projects Of those large, prefeasibility level projects sampled, most break even between US$2.75 and US$3 per lb. copper. If this sampling is taken as representative, on average, large pref easibility level copper projects break even between US$3 and US$3.25 per lb. copper. Of the most favorable projects, net sum of cash flow ranges f rom -US$1.4 billion to US$4.2 billion at these copper prices. The results of the remaining small projects of less than 40,000 tonnes per day are presented in Figure 3. There is a much higher number of AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

MINE COSTING

Realistic, up-to-date cost models paired with sensitivity analysis yields a powerful tool that can be used to efficiently assess project viability at any stage of development. Large projects show the greatest sensitivity to volatile copper prices and small projects are less sensitive and can remain profitable at depressed copper prices

c a n a d a

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f i r s t

m i n i n g

p u b l i c a t i o n

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The authors f ound that overall sensitivity to copper price was correlated with production rate. In other words, those planning to excavate the most ore per day are more likely to win or lose big due to volatile copper prices, with smaller potential producers being less exposed. Low cost mines are still best equipped to remain prof itable during periods of depressed copper prices. Conclusion Realistic, up-to-date cost models paired with sensitivity analysis yields a powerful tool that can be used to efficientl assess project viability at any stage of development. We used this method to assess a sampling of surface copper projects furthest along the development pipeline as these projects have the most available data and are most relevant to the industry. Large projects show the greatest sensitivity to volatile copper prices and small projects are less sensitive and can remain prof itable at depressed copper prices. And of course, those with f avourable grades and the lowest costs have the best odds of remaining profitable CMJ Sam Blakely is a cost analyst and geologist with CostMine, a division of Mining Intelligence (www.costs.infomine.com). He can be reached at sblakely@infomine.com. Colin Finkbeiner is a geological analyst with Mining Intelligence, a division of Glacier Resource Innovation Group (www.MininigIntelligence.com). He can be reached at colinfinkbeiner@infomine.com. Mining Intelligence has been analyzing companies and projects and collecting data on resources and reserves, production, drill results, and other information since 1989. CostMine has been evaluating projects and collecting data on supplies, equipment, labour and other key costs since 1983.

Robert Seagraves: 416-510-5891 or 1-888-502-3456 x43734 rseagraves@canadianminingjournal.com We encourage you to send your company press releases to editor@canadianminingjournal.com for consideration for the Daily News or the monthly magazine.

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NEW

MINING TECHNOLOGY

New tools of the trade METSO ADVANCES DRY-STACK TAILINGS TECH WITH ITS VPX FILTER

P52

Dry-stack tailings. CREDIT: METSO

NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY

Metso

targets next-level sustainability with VPX filter Dry-stack tailings solution recovers up to 90% of water By Alisha Hiyate

ith the introduction of its new VPX filter system f or dewatering tailings, Metso is going all in on dry tailings as the best technology to deal with the growing environmental, regulatory, social and cost pressures on the mining sector. “We believe dry stacking is the most sustainable way to manage tailings today,” says Niclas Hallevall, vice-president, beneficiation solutions, mining equipment business area, Metso. Today, only about 5% of tailings are dewatered, while 70% of mines are located in countries where water scarcity is an issue. Yet more tailings are being produced as operations mine lower-grade ore. And recent devastating tailings dam f ailures have increased the pressure to search for alternatives. While water scarcity has been a driver towards considering dry tailings technology in the past, the question now is around responsible use of resources. “I think that is what’s creating the drive right now,” Halleval says. “Ten or fifteen years ago, we were talking about water scarcity. Now we are starting to talk more about recovery of water but what

52 | CANADIAN

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The main difference with the VPX is it’s a much bigger filter. From a capacity point of view, it’s three to four times bigger than the VPA. Niclas Hallevall, vice-president, beneficiation solutions, mining equipment business area, Metso.

we really mean is, what is the responsible use of water? Are we over-consuming it? And the same thing applies to responsible use of energy, or chemicals in the pro-

cess or the ore itself – how do we mine it in a responsible way?” Designed to maximize water recovery and reduce the footprint of tailings dams – or even eliminate them completely – Metso’s VPX ﬁlter is meant to provide an answer to one part of this puzzle. “Our ambition is to challenge the conventional way of looking at tailings management in mining,” said Victor Tapia, president, mining equipment business area at Metso, in a release. “In practice, this means that besides environmental and regulatory concerns related to tailings, we need to improve the conservation of water, chemicals and ore, as well as looking f or opportunities to reprocess tailings and generate value by extracting any remaining minerals. Ultimately, it allows (the transformation of ) legacy practices in tailings management into a new, positive value creation model.” VPX filte Dry stacking is not a new technology, but it is new for many mining companies. Dry-stacking solutions produce a lowmoisture cake that is then piled in a tailwww.canadianminingjournal.com

ings facility or can be used to make construction materials. If the resulting dry cake is not geotechnically stable, it may be comingled with other materials before stacking. Thickening and paste technology are other alternatives to conventional tailings disposal in ponds, but they are very expensive and don’t recover the water that dry stack technology does, Hallevall says. In the past, dry stacking has been seen as too costly or impractical – especially at high-volume operations. AUGUST 2019

But the VPX system removes many of the barriers to adoption of dry tailings technology for mining companies. Thesystem can handle larger volumes, dewater more difficult material, and can be easily fit in standard shipping containers for easier deployment. “The main difference with the VPX is it’s a much bigger filter. From a capacity point of view, it’s three to four times bigger than the VPA, so it’s a much bigger

Top: Tailings pond at a mining operation. Above: Metso’s new VPX filter. CREDIT: METSO

machine,” Hallevall says. The system can handle up to 35.3 cubic metres in total volume and has a ﬁltration area of up to 1,391 sq. metres. While a typical operation that curCONTINUED ON PAGE 54

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY rently uses dry stacking is in the range of 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes per day, he says that the VPX is feasible for operations as large as 100,000 tonnes per day. “One solution we’re showing as an example has eight ﬁlters, one thickener and a hydrocyclone cluster, and for a typical copper mine, that will handle 60,000 tonnes per day. So this is real already today,” Hallevall says. The VPX has several other major improvements over the VPA. Instead of hydraulics, the VPX opens and closes with a rack and pinion drive system, which is not only saf er, f aster and less costly in terms of maintenance, but also adds capacity. “The f aster you can open and close, the more capacity you will have in the machine,’ Hallevall notes. “That means a smaller machine with this technology can result in higher capacity than a bigger machine.” Compared to 16 bars of operating pres-

The VPX filter is scalable and modular, meaning it can be fit into shipping containers for easier deployment to remote locations. sure in the VPA filter (and 12-16 bars as the industry standard), the VPX has up to 25 bars – making it capable of handling difficult to dewater tailings and allowing it to recover up to 90% of the water. A range of f eatures, including high pressure and some features that the VPA also had – such as air blow and membrane squeeze – mean that the moisture in the dry cake is more easily controlled. “Our filter is a multi-action filter, meaning we can go high-pressure f eed pumping, we can have a membrane squeeze with high pressure, we can do

air blow, we can even do washing of the material inside of the filter. So with all those different functions, we can always find the optimum way to dewater.” Recovering the maximum amount of water and producing a cake with the right moisture content are both important. “The moisture requirement is related to how they transport the cake in the next step, so it’s all about how can we make it transportable – typically on a conveyor,” Hallevall explains. “If they don’t reach the right moisture content, they can’t use the conveyors and they need to make special arrangements.” The VPX can produce a dry cake less than 7% moisture – or it can be customized to whatever level is necessary at the operation. Thefilter is also scalable and modular, meaning it can be fit into shipping containers f or easier deployment to remote locations. In fact, Metso has full-scale test pilot

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Metso’s VPX filter features operating pressure of up to 25 bars, making it capable of handling difficult to dewater tailings and allowing it to recover up to 90% of the water. It can produce a dry cake with less than 7% moisture. CREDIT: METSO

systems that ship in four containers available f or potential customers to test the technology at their site. “It helps the customer build a business case and make the right decision, so they know what they’re buying,” Hallevall says. “This is a big investment. The system comes equipped with sensors to gather all the information needed to evaluate the technology at the specific site. On the surf ace, dry stacking, where another step is added to processing to produce a stackable cake, is more expensive than traditional tailings dams. But when more f actors are considered, Hallevall says dry stacking is actually cost-competitive. “Our investigation shows that this could actually be done at less cost or at least at the same level compared to any of the other methods,” he says. “Everything depends on how it’s calculated – if you consider the cost of land and the construction of the dif f erent solutions, and not just looking at the operation, then from a capex and opex perspective, this is very favourable.” Smart control system Part of what makes the VPX a very ef ficient technology is that it can separate material into two streams f or bimodal filtration. AUGUST 2019

Having two configurations f or the filter – coarse and fine – can dramatically reduce the use of chemicals in the process and even reduce energy consumption. As fines are more difficult to dewater, treating the two streams separately is more efficient. “The fine stream is maybe 30-40% of the f eed, f or example, and we send that to our IPS (inclined plate settler) thickener. That thickener is fantastic on thickening fine particles in a very fast and efficient way and it only requires 50% of the chemicals that are typically used in conventional thickeners,” Hallevall says. In addition, staged filtration means the VPX can control and build the feed in the most optimal way. Metso already had a “smart” control system f or its VPA filter, but the company has an eye toward introducing artificial intelligence in the f uture with the VPX to enhance its performance. “Artificial intelligence will take it to the next level where the machine can – af ter it’s been operating f or a while and it learns the conditions in a mine – optimize the perf ormance f or that specific operation,” Hallevall says. “It’s one thing if you’re in a concentrator plant, the material looks the same over a time. But when it comes to tailings, there could be much bigger variation,

especially if we also add reprocessing, you can have different streams coming to the dewatering island. With those variations, the ﬁlter can always adapt to the condiCMJ tion of the streams that come in.

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Photo courtesy of SRC

ADVERTORIAL

SRC’s technology to help improve the security of supply chain for rare earth industry By Jack Zhang, Business Unit Manager, Mineral Processing, Saskatchewan Research Council

t is well-known that Saskatchewan has the world’s richest uranium deposits that also contain Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Over 80 per cent of the REEs found in uranium deposits are heavy REEs (HREEs). These elements, which include gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, erbium and ytterbium, have superior energy and important magnetic doping properties compared to “light” REEs. The current demand for HREEs is very high for use in things like everyday electronics. HREEs are also important for nuclear and green technologies, as well as the defence and aerospace industries. China is currently the major producer of REEs but, is also a major user in the defence, aerospace and renewable energy industries. As these industries continue to increase their consumption of REEs, the supply available for export outside China is decreasing and will likely be restricted from export in the future. This leaves an opening for the uranium industry in Saskatchewan and elsewhere to start to contribute to this growing demand. The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) has developed both acidic and alkaline processes to treat different uranium ores and rare earth ores from different areas of the world including North America, South America and Europe. Lab tests have proved that 90 per cent of the HREEs in uranium waste can be recovered through various methods. The HREEs recovered from uranium waste can be further separated using SRC’s solvent extraction (REE SX) pilot plant into individual high purity rare earth elements. This pilot plant has 150 stages of mixers and settlers that can be configu ed to different separation processes for either group separation or individual REE separation. Products with +99.9

56 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

per cent purity have been produced from the pilot plant. It can be further upgraded to higher purity with increased number of stages. SRC selected the solvent extraction (SX) method for REE separation and developed a processing plant, completed in 2017. SRC adapted that technology to address the specific REE separation challenges in processing secondary rare earth resources such as uranium raffinate. Howeve , the technology is also applicable to the separation of concentrates from primary rare earth mineral resources such as monazite and bastnaesite. Medallion Resources Ltd., a development-stage North American rare-earth processor, has a strategy to solve supply and cost issues with rare earths and engaged SRC to provide metallurgical process development using by-product monazite sand as a source. “There are very few organizations in North America that can do this type of testwork for us,” says Don Lay, President & CEO. “The SRC team has produced high quality rare earths products using our alkaline process from mineral sands industry feedstock.” Both the primary and secondary rare earth resources in Canada, in conjunction with SRC’s technology, has the potential to improve the security of supply for rare earths, while also providing a new revenue stream for uranium mining companies in Saskatchewan. The benefits and potential a e substantial and are critical contributions to the economy of Canada and the rest of the world.

www.canadianminingjournal.com

Maximize Your Process Outcomes SRCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mineral Processing team provides leading-edge testwork, research, development, scale-up and demonstration services for a variety of commodities and minerals processing technologies, to maximize your resource at every stage of your operation, from exploration to closure. Improve your productivity with SRC today.

COMMINUTION & MILLING

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Bench-scale testing Pilot-plant testing Equipment testing Mineral liberation evaluation

HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESSES

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SOLID-LIQUID SEPARATION

Production of mineral sample to specifications Tailings and effluent treatment Value recovery from waste

www.src.sk.ca/mining

Custom screen solution improves plant performance at Bell Creek

Polydeck reports on solution that doubled drainage, increased throughput by 32%

ahoe Resourcesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (now part of Pan American Silver) Bell Creek gold mine and processing f acility in Ontario was looking for help. They were experiencing severe blinding on trash circuit screens and needed a solution. The plant was experiencing an inordinate amount of downtime because of f ibrous blasting material residue lef t on the screens, which the crews had to clean

58 | CANADIAN

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manually. Furthermore, poor dewatering was reducing throughput and increasing energy consumption. Polydeck screening experts John Griff ith and Perry Miller visited the plant several times in order to understand the problem and gather the information they would need to formulate a solution. Upon investigation they discovered the following operating conditions: Feed:

~75% feed rate of 225 metric tonnes per hour (MTPH) of solids; Feed Rate: At f ull f low the total slurry to dewater: - 2862.1 gallons per minute (GPM). Polydeck began testing some panels that were modif ied to add f lexibilit and installed them on the carbon saf ety screen. The modif ied panels had some success; however, even more f lexibilit was needed. www.canadianminingjournal.com

PLANT SOLUTIONS

Polydeck’s custom solution (blue and black panels on right) showing little to no blinding. CREDIT: POLYDECK

Ultimately, Griffit and Miller decided to create a custom solution for Bell Creek. The new panels would need to meet a wide range of demanding criteria. The would need to be durable enough to remain effective for a six-month life-cycle, and still be flexible enough to impart some secondary motion. The secondary motion would be needed to resist particles of trash f rom plugging the aperture, while simultaneously preventing the build-up of calcium carbonate on the underside of the panel, which had been observed on virtually every trash and carbon safety screen in use at this site. Typically, panels in this application would require almost daily cleaning, which is inef -f icient and expensive. Removing this maintenance requirement or greatly reducing its f requency AUGUST 2019

would be paramount. Another criteria would be compatibility of f astening — necessary in order to allow the panels to be used on existing machines with other manuf acturers’ modular panels. Above all else, the panel would need to provide adequate dewatering. An ambitious target of 60 GPM per sq. ft. was set. Griffit and Miller decided to commission two custom Polydex panel designs to ad-dress the issues specific to Bell Creek. Polydex modular polyurethane screen panel solutions have proven to be a good choice f or a variety of screening circuits and are especially well suited f or wet applications. Polyurethane of f ers the most options, not only in terms of screen openings, but also in the integration of perf ormance enhancing f eatures like dams, restricted flow bars, skid bars, and defle tors. Polydex is especially customizable, because options are numer-ous, and are available for issues like high wear zones, pegging, bed depth creation, drainage rates and high open area. New f eatures and changes can be made quickly, and polyurethane can reduce perceptible noise levels by as much as 50% versus competitive steel options. Another signif ican benefit for maintenance crews is the ease of use of Polydex products and the availability of fastening options, either in pin f astening or snap f astening. This greatly reduces the time required for installation or removal. In October of last year, new custom Polydex 1 by 1-f t. slotted panels with pin f astening were installed at Bell Creek in rows one through f our, and new Polydex 1 x 1-f t. VR screen panels were installed in rows f ive and six. The remaining six rows of the screen contained panels manuf actured by competitors of Polydeck in order to draw a compar-ison in perf ormance. Af ter three months, the results – and the comparison between competing products – were nothing short of astounding. “Thepanel’s performance exceeded our best expectations, both in drainage rate and durability. Thisinnovation provides a cost-effective alternative solution to more

costly vibrating screen machines and specialty media solutions.” Griffith say The custom-made Polydex slotted and VR screen panels exhibited excellent dewater-ing results with little water proceeding past the last row of Polydeck panels. They al-lowed f or more ef f icie rinsing of material and increased throughput by 32%. The drain rate (GPM) increased by more than 2.5 times and the screen capacity more than doubled. Last but not least, the panels eliminated the need f or a secondary screen al-together. While competitor panels still exhibited problematic blinding, the custom Polydex pan-els demonstrated remarkable results. The panels utilized in this test ef f ectively resisted blinding, which greatly reduced the labour costs associated with cleaning the panels frequently and increased the availability of the unit for its intended purpose: screening. To say the screens have been very well received is an understatement. As Nick Mus-kovac, Tahoe Resources Metallurgical Technician explained that eliminating second-ary bypass screens helps Bell Creek gold mine operate more efficient on several fronts. “Increased drainage with Polydeck panels has allowed the bypass of the secondary trash screen. This provides savings in maintenance time, energy consumption, and process water,” Muskovac says. “This is a critical path for our operations. Polydeck has provided excellent customer service and has worked closely with us to solve our screening issues.” The successf ul testing of the Polydex panels at Bell Creek and their reliability f or de-watering and resistance to plugging promises to have a f ar-reaching impact on the gold mining industry. Polydeck is looking f orward to working with other gold producers that are interested in the opportunity to screen their trash product utilizing Polydex with conCMJ ventional screening machines.

This article was provided by Polydeck. Polydeck is the leading provider of the most dependable synthetic screen media in the aggregate, coal, and mining sectors in North and South America. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

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Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . prengineering.com Pure Gold Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . puregoldmining.ca Redpath Mining .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . redpathmining.com Sandvik .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rocktechnology.sandvik Saskatchewan Research Council .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56/57. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . src.sk.ca SMS Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32/33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smsequip.com SRK Consulting .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . srk.com T.D. Micronic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tdmicronic.com Tema Isenmann .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . temaisenmann.com TopVu .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . topvu.ca Tsubaki. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tsubaki.ca Victaulic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . victaulicknifegate.com Victoria Gold .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vitgoldcorp.com

AUGUST 2019

CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL |

UNEARTHING TRENDS

What gold consolidation means for the industry going forward By Jeff Swinoga

ransactions are no longer just about getting bigger to get better. Mining companies are thinking about fundamental value creation, “realizable” synergies and how capital investments can enable them to drive greater ef ficiencies. Whether it’s to acquire assets and expertise or invest in new projects and transformative technologies – it’s about improving operations, end to end as a competitive advantage. After years of conserving capital and strengthening balance sheets, growth is back on miners’ agenda. It’s almost been a year since news of the first big gold merger sparked discussions across the entire sector as mining and metals companies look to gear up for growth. Businesses should review recent transformational activity in the gold sector before mapping out their next steps. Whether through M&A, joint ventures or strategic partnerships, there are several benefits to consider from inorganic growth.

Capture expertise and cut down costs: In a time where available talent in the sector is scare, M&A can be a viable route to acquire strong leadership teams and the skills and capabilities needed to navigate a rapidly evolving industry. It can also be used to access new technologies, deposits and additional liquidity, while helping to streamline operations and reduce costs. This is especially important as rising shareholder activism continues to put pressure on mining and metals players to reshape boardrooms, improve share prices and redeﬁne their image as sustainable and responsible operator. In fact, a recent report f rom Kingsdale Advisors identiﬁes 13 activist campaigns in just the last 26 months.

Reach new geographies: Consolidation can also offer geographical dispersion of mining activities. Globally, the mining and metals sector has predominately f ocused investment in lower-risk countries. Although that’s likely to continue, we also expect to see more companies look to diversify and navigate towards long-term growth options in other nations. Finding good deposits, however, can be difﬁcult and of ten located in countries that are perceived to have higher risks. Ghana, f or example, is growing on miners’ radars as it takes over as Af rica’s largest gold producer and continues to attract investment. Companies will need to deeply consider the risk equation to investment as they look to countries outside of their comfort zone. 62 | CANADIAN

MINING JOURNAL

After years of conserving capital and strengthening balance sheets, growth is back on miners’ agenda. It’s almost been a year since news of the first big gold merger sparked discussions across the entire sector as mining and metals companies look to gear up for growth.

Scale to attract investment: Companies participating in the recent mega mergers are beginning to divest of smaller assets, which is good news f or juniors and mid-tiers looking to purchase existing and quality resources to position themselves for growth. The challenge for both parities — those looking to sell and buy — is that small and mid-tier companies still face challenges to raise sufﬁcient capital from investors to purchase available divestments. With a need for greater capital and shrinking investor interest, there’s an opportunity for companies to review M&A options as an avenue to secure additional f unds to invest in new projects and attract greater investor attention.

Join forces with new industries: Although joint ventures have typically been a model used by base metals companies with bigger projects and more room for larger players, they shouldn’t be overlooked by the gold sector. JVs with players outside of the industry, such as technology and manuf acturing f or example, can reveal new ways of working and delivering product to market. At the end of the day, companies are mining for the same product. What will set them apart is their capital ef ﬁciency, licence to operate, operational excellence and strong management teams to lead them through times of uncertainty. With consolidation not expected to slow anytime soon, the year ahead is ripe with opportunities f or the mining and metals sector to review potential synergies and shift deals from being divestment-led to investment-led to capture the attention of investors and provide increased returns. CMJ

JEFF SWINOGA is the EY Canada mining & metals industry co-leader. He is based in Toronto. For more information, visit www.ey.com/ca/mining-metals.

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